This Life Will be Better
by Commander Alice Shepard
Summary: Running away can lead to changes, but when a human who can speak Poleepkwan moves into an apartment across the road from District 9, the last thing she expects is to find friends, enemies, and courage. OCxOC in later chapters. Updated Summary because the old one was rubbish.
1. I have to get out

**AN: Hi everyone! Glad you decided to read my District 9 fan fiction ^^ It's got a good amount of drama, and before anyone asks about the movie plot, that comes in later. It's already mostly written, it just needs to be edited and reposted. Which reminds me...**

**Thank you to everyone who's read this, faved, reviewed, and added to their story alert list. I'm really sorry about the taking it all down and editing thing, but I was quite literally dying due to spelling errors. On that note, if you see any, please point them out! Thank you.**

I flinched as Jack hit me again. He had found out my secret, and he was not happy about it.

"How the hell can you speak around us? We're not filth like those prawns!" he hissed, as his friend punched me in the stomach.

"You're the scum here, not them" I hissed, causing him to glare at me.

"How do we even know your human? For all we know, you could be a prawn who was turned into a human!" he screamed, hitting me across the face, which I knew would leave an angry black and blue tomorrow.

He stood in front of me, breathing hard, and staring at me. I knew he was winding down now, so I waited.

"If I ever fucking see you again, I swear I'll fucking kill you" He growled, yanking me by my hair and throwing me to the ground just outside the alley he had pulled me into.

Without a word, I stood up, and headed back to my house, blocking out the insults and threats he shouted after me.

As soon as I got home, though, I dashed to my room and started packing my things, getting ready to leave. I knew he would carry out his threat, since he had tried to kill me before. It only took about an hour to pack my things, and I carried them to my car to load them inside. After one last look at my house, I pulled out of the garage and speed away into the night, knowing that I had one place I could hide, and he'd never think to look for me.

An hour or so later, I pulled into the town of Johannesburg. I knew it might be a risk, since Jack might guess I'd go someplace were both languages I spoke could be used, but I was hoping he'd think I'd stay away from there, since it's obvious, and he'd stay away. When I arrived, it was kind of late, and I didn't see anyplace I could rent a room for the night, so I parked in an area that didn't look that populated, and slept in my car. I know, not the smartest thing, but it was better then driving around all night.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up when the sun started to stream through my windows. It took me a moment to remember what happened, and when I did, I sighed quietly. "At least I'm away from him now..." I muttered, wishing he hadn't heard me.

After a few minutes, I started the car and drove to a deli I had seen the night before, were I bought a sandwich and a juice. Thinking quick, I added a newspaper to my order, figuring I could look for a room for rent to stay in.

After I paid, I sat on a little table that was set up outside, and skimmed through the apartments, and found one that was close by, and cheap. Even though my parents are rich, I still figured it would be best to find a cheaper one, just in case they didn't send me money and I had to get a job. I called the number, and was pleased when the woman who answered said I could see it in an hour, and if I wanted it, I could move in by tonight. I finished eating, and read the rest of the paper, before I got back into the car and drove to the address.


	2. I'm not coming home

An hour later, I had signed the lease and started to move her things into the apartment. The woman had told me she was desperate to get the apartment rented out, but no one wanted to be so close to District 9 When I asked what she meant, she sighed and admitted that District 9 was across the street, and down the road a bit. I was a bit excited about that, but I didn't tell her that,since it might cause her to raise the rent or something like that. Instead, I shrugged and said it wasn't a big deal, and that I still wanted the apartment. She seemed shocked, but pulled the lease out of her briefcase and went over it with me, and I paid the next few months rent up front. She thanked me for renting it, and left. After waiting a few minutes, I walked down to my car and started to bring my things up to my room. I passed a few people on the stairs, and they all looked at me like I was nuts. I shrugged it off, something I was used to doing, and soon had all my things inside. It had taken me a bit of time to get my bed and couch I had somehow squeezed into my car up, but when I got them in, it was worth it. I had unpacked almost everything in about an hour, and had decided to go have dinner at a dinner I had past on my way here when my cell phone rang. Curious, I fished it out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID, to see my mom's number. A bit confused, I pressed the "answer" button and raised the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Oh my god! You're alive!" came my mother's voice, practically screaming.

I winced, but replied "Yea, of course I am."

"Were are you?" she demanded, as cold as I remembered now that she knew I was safe.

"Someplace safe, away from Jack. He tried to kill me again the other day." I stated.

I could almost _hear_ her rolling her eyes, and I was shocked when she said. "Whatever, get yourself back here!"

I hissed softly, then replied "No mom. I'm not safe there."

"i don't care. Get back here." came the harsh reply.

"No. I'm not going to put my life in danger again." I said, and pushed the "end" key before she could say anything else. I checked my phone, and was grateful that the call hadn't lasted long enough for her to try to trace it,though it had come close. I sighed deeply, and decided to just go to bed, instead of going out. I wasn't that hungry, anyways. I put my phone on silent, and crawled into my bed, and fell into a deep and restless sleep, wondering if she would find me, and remembering why she didn't care.

Sometime around midnight, I woke up with a start. I had had a nightmare in which I was forced to watch Jack beating and killing countless Poleepkwa, and I was unable to help them. It had had scared me enough to wake up, which was hard to due since I tended to be a deep sleeper. I will admit that, for a moment, I expected him to come storming into the room like he usually did, before I remembered that I wasn't anywhere he could find me right away. With a slight smile, I grabbed my phone to see if I had missed any calls, to discover both my parents and Jack had called multiple times. With a slight groan, I realized I should change my phone number, or get a new phone. Possibly both. Since I knew I couldn't fall asleep, I rolled out of bed and hopped in the shower, before I changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt I had gotten back when life was better. After I made my bed, I pulled a book of the bookcase I had found in the bedroom, and started to read it for a bit. Soon, though, my eyes grew heavy and I fell into a restful sleep.


	3. Using my eyes

I woke up again sometime around nine,and lay in bed for a moment before sitting up. I knew I still had a good amount of things to do, so I stood and walked to the bathroom to brush my hair. After I did so, I winced at the black and blue that now covered my right cheek. I tugged my hair over it, and I pulled on a hat, to make sure the wind wouldn't blow my hair out of my face. I grabbed my cell phone, so I could change numbers, then realized that my parents would know my new number. I sighed, but tossed it into the trash, and walked down the stairs, knowing there was a store nearby were I could by a new phone, even if it was going to be a pay-as-you go phone. I walked out to my car, but decided at last minute to walk instead. I hadn't walked around that much recently, and I was starting to miss it. Plus, I'd get to see more of my surroundings by walking.

* * *

After walking around for about an hour, I had gotten a new cell phone and a month of service at the drug store, and had gotten a job at the deli a few blocks away from were I lived. I figured it had been a decent day, and had started to wander back to my house when I noticed a small movie theater that was showing a movie I had wanted to see. With a shrug, I crossed the street and bought a ticket, deciding it would be a good destresser. When I exited, it was dark. I checked my watch, and realized it was eight-thirty. I sighed, and started towards home. When I was about a block away, though, I was suddenly hit with a memory from when I was still with Jack...a memory of the first time he tried to kill me.

_We had been fighting, and he had hit me again. I though he was drunk, until I noticed that he hadn't opened his beer yet. This frightened me a bit, but I didn't do anything._

_"look at me when I talk to you, bitch!" he suddenly exclaimed, slapping me so hard I fell to the floor. Before I could get up, he was holding me down, and his hands were around my throat, growing tighter with each passing second. I knew he was going to kill me, and I debated letting him. But I realized that he would win if he did succeed, and I somehow kicked him of me._

_Without a word, I grabbed my bag and coat, and walked out the door. I had gone to the cops immediately, showing them the angry red marks on my neck. But they waved it of, saying that it didn't prove anything. I had gotten mad, but I knew I couldn't do anything. Jack had apologized, and claimed he was drunk, and I excepted that, even though I knew he was lying._

I wiped the tears that had leaked out when I was remembering, and started to stand from the spot I had crumpled at. It was then I heard the unmistakable sound of someone being hit, and I knew it was coming from the alleyway I was standing near. I timidly peaked around the corner, to see a boy, who appeared drunk, beating a Poleepkwa. This made me so angry, I didn't think before I stepped into the alley way and yelled at him.

"Stop hitting him!" I yelled, not caring what happened to me, not truly. The boy turned, and staggered forward.

"whasit matte'? Its jusa prawn." he slurred, and I clenched my fists.

"how would you like it if a drunk ass was beating you?" I said softly, menacingly. He took one look at my eyes, which were now staring right at him, and ran off, screaming about demons.

I sighed, for once glad I had eyes as red as blood, and I turned my attention to the Poleepkwa. I could tell it was scared, so I knelt down a few feet away from it.

"*are you OK?" I clicked, glad for once that I could speak Poleepkwan. I saw his eyes widen slightly, but he nodded and answered "*I think so... how can you speak like me?" he asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

"*I've always been able to." I replied with a shrug. I heard cars moving about more behind us, and I glanced at my watch, surprised to see it was almost nine. "*do you have to go back to District Nine?" I clicked, not wanting him to get in trouble. He realized the time and nodded, but he looked a bit nervous. I somehow knew he though he might run into the guy who had been beating him again, so I hesitantly asked "* do you want me to walk with you?"

He looked slightly embarrassed, but he nodded. "*If you wouldn't mind." he clicked, as he stood up. I stood up as well, and then remembered my manners. "*Oh, I'm Victoria, by the way." I clicked, feeling somewhat embarrassed for not introducing myself sooner.

"*I'm Adam." he replied, as we started to walk towards district nine. We walked in silence, and I wished I knew what to say, since the silence seemed awkward. after a few minutes, we arrived at D-9. "Bye Adam." I said, speaking English since there were MNU agents everywhere. I didn't want them to hear me, since they might try to make me work for them. I saw Adam's eyes fill with confusion at first, then understanding when he realized why I was speaking English. He waved slightly, and walked into district nine just as the curfew was enforced. I turned, and headed towards my apartment, glad I had helped him, and unaware that he was watching me through the fence.


	4. An idea

I flopped on my couch, and sighed contently. I was happy that I had been able to help someone, but I was still uneasy about the MNU agents. I knew they had seen me, so I just had to hope now that they wouldn't come to question me or anything. I shook my head, knowing that they most likely wouldn't care, and headed to my bedroom to grab some sleep clothes.

A few minutes after I had changed, I walked past my trash can to see my phone glowing inside. I sighed, wondering who had called me this time, and I though I was in luck when I saw a friend's name instead of my parents or Jack. I quickly checked my voice mail, only to find a message from her telling me I needed to get back there, or we wouldn't be friends. with a shrug, I resigned myself to having no friends, and i pulled the battery out of my phone so no one else could call. after I set up my new phone, I pondered about having a group that helped Poleepkwas. I had a feeling that none existed at the present time, so I decided I'd somehow make one. I wanted to plan more, but I remembered at ten that i had work early in the morning, so I went to bed, and hoped I'd have more ideas in the morning.

* * *

I woke up to the shrill beeping of the alarm clock on my phone, and I rolled out of bed. I was hoping Adam was doing OK, and I was hoping to see him sometime later that day. After I had gotten dressed in jeans and a sweater, I noticed when I looked out the window that there was a bus in front of District Nine. I was going to go investigate, but I caught site of the time and realized I had to hurry, or I'd be late for work. As I jogged down the stairs, I tugged my hair into a ponytail, since I wanted it out of the way for a bit. When I got to the bottom of the stairs and outside, I thought I saw something glittering on the bottom step. When I bent down to look, thinking it might be someone's, I realized that it was a thin chord, with a skeleton key. I pondered about who's it might be, and I put it in my pocket to ask everyone who lived in the apartments in the building if they had lost it. In a way, I was hoping no one would claim it, as I thought it was pretty. I decided to ask around, and keep it if no one claimed it, and the thought put a slight smile on my face. After a moment, I realized I was going to be late, and I speed up a bit, so I could make it in time.

* * *

"Phew." I gasped, sitting down at my break. I hadn't expected the training to be that tiring, but when I had arrived at the deli, it had been packed. The woman who was training me barely had time to show me, and I ended up learning...by doing. It had been utterly tiring, and I was secretly glad when she had insisted I take my break. After a quick lunch, though, I was back on my feet and helping again, and I saw her smile gratefully.

After a hectic shift, I was glad to be on my way home. I had almost forgotten about the necklace I had found, until I reached into my pocket for my chap stick. I held it in my hand and looked at it again, and realized that it looked strangely familiar. I though about this, as I stuck it back into my pocket and walked to my apartment. I checked at each apartment to see if anyone had lost a necklace, but the only other person who lived there said they didn't wear necklaces. I was slightly excited by this fact, since I would now get to keep the necklace. When I got to my apartment, I went to bed almost immediately, and my dreams were different ways the necklace could have ended up on the stairs.


	5. You're so sweet,Adam

I woke earlier then I had the day before, and took a quick shower, humming softly to myself out of habit. When I went to get dressed, I replayed the dreams that I had woken up from. Most were outrageous, involving my mom's ghost, but the one that stuck in my mind the most was one were Adam snuck over and left it there for me. I shook my head, telling myself that was unlikely, but I couldn't help but think that I really wanted to see him again. Since I had no way of doing so for sure, I slipped on my sneakers and headed to work.

Thankfully, work wasn't as hectic as it had been the day before. I was able to learn more, and the woman, who's name I soon picked up from people calling to her, was Diana. She was always smiling, it seemed, and we chatted about life while we were filling the orders.

"so, got a boyfriend?" she asked, playfully nudging me as I walked past her.

I laughed quietly. "no, haven't found a guy who isn't nothing but trouble." I said. I had discovered how to hide my bruise with make-up, and I was happy that I didn't have to hide behind my hair.

"Bye Diana" I called, waving.

"Bye dear! See you tomorrow!" she called back, waving as she locked up the deli. We had somehow ended up talking later then we had planned, and it was about 5 o' clock now. The deli had officially closed at three, but we still sold drinks and bags of chips to people who came in. I was pondering about what we had talked about, when I heard someone walk towards me. Curious, I turned to see Adam, and it looked like he was smiling. "*hey." I clicked, glad to know we weren't close enough to D-9 for MNU agents to hear us..

"*Hey" he clicked, as he walked closer, until he was standing right in front of me. I noticed he had a skeleton key around his neck, and I was debating saying something, when he clicked "*good, you found it!" I could hear him beaming in the words, and I looked up at him, silently wishing I was a bit taller, and smiled. "*so you did leave it. I had a feeling somehow that you did." I replied, smiling slightly. He smiled back, and clicked"*I'm glad you like it though... I wanted to say thank you for helping me the other day, and I thought you'd like a key."

I nodded. "*It's really pretty." I replied, glad I had noticed it. We chatted for a bit, and we ended up walking back toward District Nine, and my apartment. "*oh, how did you know were I lived?" I asked him quietly, knowing that we were nearing MNU agents, and not wanting to have to switch to English yet.

"*I watched you leave, after you had walked me here..." he clicked, sounding slightly embarrassed.

I nodded. "*OK, I was just curious." I replied."*oh, if you ever need help, you can come over to my apartment, OK?" I added. He nodded, and I made a mental note to dig out my laptop to see if there were any groups to help Poleepkwas anywhere nearby.

* * *

A few minutes later, I was back in my apartment. I was happy I had seen Adam again, and he had said he would try to come by my apartment sometime soon so we could talk some more. After I had grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, I sat down on my couch with my laptop to look up Poleepkwa-helping groups. I was slightly upset when I learned that there were none, but I found a site that you could make your own site for a club or group. I worked on a web page, but was stumped when it asked for the groups name. After thinking about it for what felt like forever, I decided to use Liberation Front, simply because it was simple, and the only thing that came to mind. When I was setting it, it asked if I would want to change it in the future. Unsure, I clicked on maybe,since I might come up with a different name, or something that fit better. After agreeing to the rights and such, I had made up my web page. I wanted to customize it, but I noticed it was starting to get late. I posted some contact info and a note saying I'd be customizing soon on the page, and shut down my laptop, making sure to save the link, before heading to bed.

* * *

In the morning, I was able to do some editing on my page before I went to work, and I was hoping I'd have a few messages from people when I got home. When I arrived at work, I noticed Diana looked a bit upset. I was concerned, but she just waved it of whenever I asked. I knew better then to keep asking, so I let it drop. We still chatted, but it wasn't quite as casual as it had been. I was wondering what could have happened, but I was soon busy with work, so I didn't have time to think about it until my break.


	6. Tyler's a supporter?

Though I had time to think about it, I decided to think about other things, and I was smiling without even realizing it. It was different from the fake smile I tended to wear. I wasn't even sure what had caused the smile, but I was guessing it was the idea of having a real friend. I think Diana noticed the change, since she was looking at me slightly differently. I told myself it was just my imagination, and we closed the deli at the normal time.

* * *

When I arrived home, I checked on my site to see if anyone had messaged me, and was glad to see that more people then I had expected to had. Most were humans, and a few were messaging on the behalf of the Poleepkwa. I replied enthusiastically, and was pondering were and when I could hold a meeting when someone knocked on my door. I abandoned my laptop on the table, and when I answered the door, i was slightly surprised to see my neighbor standing there.

"umm,hi...you're the one who started the Poleepkwa help group, Liberation Front, right?" he asked, eyes darting around as though he was expecting someone to jump out.

"yea...why?" I asked cautiously. I wanted people to join, but I also knew MNU wouldn't like it very much if they found out about it.

"...I want to join." he replied softly, looking up. "I was always told by my parents that they were bad, but one helped me last year when I was in trouble...I want to help them back." he added, still seeming nervous.

"OK, as soon as I know were to hold a meeting I'll let you know." I replied, smiling slightly.

He nodded, and was about to walk downstairs to his apartment when he turned back.

"i have my parent's house...they left it to me in their will... you could use it if you want." he said in a rush.

I blinked. "Really? You would let us use it?" I asked.

He nodded. "As long as I can be in the group, you can use it." he replied. "I'll bring you the address later tonight." he added.

I nodded again, and he waved before he headed towards his apartment. As I closed the door, I was amazed at my luck. Not only did we have a meeting spot, but a member lived the floor below me. I was happy about how well the group was doing already, and planned on putting the address up as soon as possible. In the meantime, I was going to go for a walk, and hope to bump into Adam, so we could talk again.

* * *

After I shut down my laptop and checked to make sure the black and blue,that was slowly fading from my cheek, was still hidden, I headed out to go for a walk. I was thinking about the group, and plans for it, so I was starting to get lost in my thoughts. After a few minutes, my cell phone rang, causing me to jump slightly. When I looked at the caller ID, I saw Diana's number. Curious, I answered it quickly.

"Hi dear." I heard her say. I thought it might be me, but she seemed to sound really tired.

"Hi Diana. What's up?" I said, tugging my hair out of the wind's grasp.

"I was wondering if you could handle the shop alone tomorrow...my husband won't let me go to work since he found out I wasn't feeling good today." she replied, coughing slightly.

"Sure, I think I can handle it. Do you want me to bring you some soup after work? I asked,before remembering I had no idea were she lived.

"No thanks, dear. My husband said he'd make me some." she replied.

"Alright, feel better" I said, as she said good bye.


	7. An enemy and a new neighbor

After I hung up, I double checked to make sure the keys were still in my pocket. They were, and I decided to walk back to my apartment, since it was starting to get cold. As I was walking, I kept getting the feeling someone was watching me, but no one was ever behind me when I looked.

* * *

When I arrived back home, I saw that my neighbor had taped a note with his parent's house address, along with his name onto my door. After I unlocked my door and had gone inside, I dropped the paper on the table next to my laptop, and made some dinner, before getting ready for bed. I knew I had to be at the deli early the next morning, since I was opening for Diana, so I didn't waste time going to bed after I ate.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up a few hours earlier then usual. After I dressed and had covered my bruise, I headed out the door, braiding my hair as I walked. Within minutes, I was at the deli, and was pulling the keys from my pocket when I heard someone walk up behind me. When I turned around, I was scared half to death by the MNU agent standing before me. After a moment, I composed myself enough to ask "Can I help you, sir?" He shook his head, but kept his eyes on me. Feeling uneasy, I turned and unlocked the door, thinking that he might have might have stopped for a moment while on patrol or something. With a slight shrug, I walked around the deli, turning on lights and such, before I flipped the sign so it said "we're open!"

After a few hours, I had sat down behind the counter to have lunch when the MNU agent entered. not wanting to appear rude, I set down my sandwich so I could take his order.

"Can I help you,sir?" I asked him as he approached the counter.

"hi, sorry if I startled this morning...my wife asked me to make sure you were OK." he replied, looking a bit embarrassed.

"oh, you're Diana's husband?" I asked, pasting a fake smile on. I was slightly uneasy being around him, since he was a MNU officer, but to find out he's Diana's husband? It felt like I had swallowed a brick.

He nodded. "I'm guessing your Victoria?" he replied, reaching across the counter to shake my hand. I had no intention of shaking it, but I knew it would look odd if I didn't, so I forced myself to shake. "My name is Phil, by the way." he said, smiling widely as he let go of my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Phil." I said, lying through my teeth, my mind racing. It would have been bad enough to have a boss who had a different opinion on the Poleepkwa having rights, but to have her husband be a MNU agent? That is the worst possibly thing I could think of.

"...remember to call,OK?" I heard Phil say as I came back to reality.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I got a bit lost in my thoughts." I asked, somehow making myself look embarrassed.

He smiled "No problem, darlin'. I said, if you see any prawns, make sure to call." he replied, still smiling.

I nodded, pretending I'd do that, and he soon left. I muttered to myself for a few minutes while I ate, and I helped the last few customers before I closed up, my mind a mess with everything that had happened.

* * *

When I arrived home, I checked on my laptop to see if I had any new messages. I found an e-mail from my Realtor, letting me know that someone new had moved into the building, and I was curious who had moved in. I was about to reply and ask which apartment they were moving into, when I heard a knock at my door. Abandoning my laptop, I made my way to the door, but made sure to check that my bruise was still covered before I opened the door.

When I did, I saw a boy who looked to be about my age, with messy looking black hair covering his eyes. After a moment, I smiled slightly, and said "Hi. Are you the new person in the building?"

He nodded, and replied "yea, I just finished moving in and I wanted to meet my neighbors."

"Did you meet Tyler yet?" I asked, wondering what his name was and waiting for a moment when I could introduce myself.

He nodded. "yea, I just met him...he said you're the only other person who lives here?" he said questioningly, as though wondering why no one else was living here.

I nodded. "most people don't want to live so close to D-9." I replied. "oh, I'm Victoria by the way." I added, wondering if I should offer my hand for him to shake.

"I'm Zander." he replied. "Why wouldn't people want to live here? Is it a bad section of town?" he asked, sounding a bit worried.

I shook my head."Most people don't like Poleepkwa, so they don't want to live across the street from D-9. " I replied, before I remembered most people referred to them as prawns. I was a bit nervous, since I didn't know if he was for or against them having equal rights, but he smiled slightly.

"Tyler said you're working on a group to help them?" he asked, looking a bit unsure. With a sigh of relief, I nodded. "yea, it's still in the development stages though." I replied."when it's ready, can I join?" he asked. With a smile, I nodded. "of course" I replied, happy that the only other neighbor I had was on the same side. He smiled back, and said "My apartment is right next door to Tyler, let me know when the first meeting is." I nodded, then remembered the website. signaling for him to wait a moment, I dashed into my living room, which was half hidden from someone standing in the doorway, and quickly wrote it down on a piece of paper. Handing it to him, I said "this is the website I set up for it. I'll post info on there, in case I don't get to talk to you because of work."he nodded, and stuck the paper into his pocket. "I'll see you around." He said, waving slightly. I waved back, and closed the door quietly, happy to have yet another possible new member.


	8. A silent watcher and bottled up tears

After I checked the rest of my e-mail, among which was a message from Jack that I deleted without reading, I checked on my site to see how it was doing. I was glad that people were posting with what days would work for the meetings and such and I noticed someone had pointed out how the Poleepkwas could only get Sundays off from work. After I posted that the meetings would be on Sundays because of this, and asking what times would work. Shortly after I had finished and had gone into the kitchen to make a sandwich for dinner, my cell phone rang. I checked it and saw it as Diana, and quickly answered.

"hey Diana." I said, holding the phone on my shoulder as I continued to make dinner.

"Hi dear, I just wanted to let you know I won't be at work tomorrow. Phil wants me to stay in bed for a few more days." She said, before she coughed in a way that sounded painful.

"OK, thanks for letting me know. I really hope you feel better soon." I said, wondering if there was anything I could do to help her.

"Thanks dear...I'll call you when I'll be coming back to work." She replied.

After I told her I'd be fine on my own, she said good bye, and I finished making dinner. I wasn't looking forward to having to wake up early again in the morning, but I knew I needed to keep my job. With a sigh, I ate dinner before I got ready for bed, my mind a tornado of ideas and thoughts and worries.

* * *

When I arrived at work, I was glad that Phil wasn't waiting for me like he had the morning before. I kept myself busy by taking orders, and the day was soon over, causing me to wonder how it had gone by so fast. With a shrug, I locked up, and had headed home when I got the feeling someone was watching me again. This time, though, when I turned around, I saw someone duck into an alleyway. Since I wanted to know who had been following me, I silently walked to the alleyway, and peeked around the corner. When I didn't see anyone, I stepped around the corner, and looked a bit more. In doing so, I saw a bit of movement just beyond the dumpster. I walked slowly towards the movement, and when I looked, I saw a small Poleepkwa, possibly about five years old. Feeling even more curious, I knelt down to look closer at the young Poleepkwa.

"*Hi." I clicked, hoping that no MNU agents were nearby.

"*Hi..." he clicked quietly.

"*Is something wrong?" I asked, noticing that he looked nervous. He shook his head. "*I wasn't supposed to get caught." he replied, looking up at me. "*What do you mean by caught?" I asked. "*Adam asked me to keep an eye on you while he's at work. I wasn't supposed to get caught." he replied. "*Oh...I'm Carter." he added after a moment. "*I'm Victoria" I replied. Carter chuckled quietly "*I know,Adam told me all about you."

"*ALL about me?"I asked, slightly uneasy.

"*well,everything he knows about you...like you're really nice, you can talk to us, you're starting a group to help us...but he said he doesn't know anything about your past, and that he wouldn't tell me if he did." he added.

I smiled slightly. "*well, it's good to know he'd keep my personal things a secret...but if you don't mind me asking, why does Adam have you watching me?"

"*He just wants to make sure you're safe. He knows the MNU agents wouldn't like it very much if the learned about your group or about you being able to talk like us."

"*it's nice to know that..." I clicked softly.

* * *

After talking for a few minutes more, Carter promised he wouldn't be as stalkerish while watching me, and he said that he could send any message to Adam for me if I wanted. I replied I didn't have any messages yet, and he nodded. After he had headed back to D-9 and I went back home, I rummaged through a box I had almost forgotten about. After a few minutes, I found what I was looking for, and I sat on the edge of the coffee table I had found recently. In my hand was a picture of a woman, her eyes filled with laughter and the summer sun behind her, making her look even more beautiful.

"Hi mommy..." I whispered, as a tear escaped.

_When I was ten, I had gone over to my friends house after a fight with my real mom. I remembered saying I wished she was dead, though it was purely out of anger. My friend pretended to listen, then insisted we play a game that I hated, and she loved. I had gotten a bit annoyed, and was about to go home when I heard a gunshot outside. Without thinking, I ran out the door to see what had happened, only to find my beautiful mother crumpled on the sidewalk in a growing puddle of blood. With a scream of pure horror, I ran towards her, only to be pulled back by my friends' mother._

_"Don't go near her!" she had hissed, pulling me inside and calling the police. I think I went into a state of shock after that, because the next thing I remembered was being in a hospital with faceless people hovering over me._

_"Such a terrible way to go...and for her to see her like that? It's a wonder she isn't hysterical..." I heard ghosts whisper, as they slipped past my bed. _

_After a few days, I was finally well enough to piece together what had happened. My mother, who had been coming to pick me up and say she was sorry for the fight, had been the victim of a drive-by shooting, a random civilian shot by one of the few gangs who were in our small town. _

_It had taken me years to heal from that, and it wasn't made easier by the fact my father had married soon after her death. I think he had wanted me to have a mother, but though my new mother was nice to me at first, she grew cold. She would glare at me whenever my father told me how much I looked like my mother, and she never talked to me if she could help it. I had wanted her to hold me and tell me it would all be OK, but she never had a kind word. I had soon grown to hate her, and I avoided her as much as I could._

I tenderly wiped the single tear that I had let escape of the glass, and looked at her bright smile. I couldn't bear to pack her away again, and I placed her on my end table. I busied myself tidying up the small apartment, not wanting to focus on the past that much, but I would get hit with a flashback whenever I looked at the picture. After I a bit, I decided to just give into them and let them come, and I soon fell into a peaceful sleep curled up on the couch.


	9. You're the first to ever ask me

Sometime later I woke up to people talking outside. When I walked to the window, I saw a couple arguing about something. With a sigh, I tugged my curtains closed, and glanced at the time. I was slightly shocked when I realized it was already ten, since I had thought I'd only slept for a few minutes. With a shrug, I made some dinner and read a bit, until I felt tired enough to fall back asleep.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up when my cell phone rang. It was Diana again, and I laughed to myself when I realized she was the only one to call me on my cell phone.

"Hello?" I answered, curious why she was calling.

"Hi dear, I just wanted to let you know that the deli is closed today." she answered.

"Is there any reason, other then I didn't open it?" I asked, feeling a bit panicked since I didn't want it to be my fault. She laughed softly, then replied "We're always closed on Sundays. Phil and I go to church, and most people don't want to be out other then that since the prawns are all off from work today."

"I see..." I muttered,mentally wincing at the word 'prawn'. After we chatted for a few minutes, she said she had to go because they had arrived at church. After saying good bye, I checked my site and saw people had posted that they were available after church, which ran until noonish. I posted that I would be talking to the person who's house we would be meeting at, and that we might be able to have the first meeting as early as next week. My hand drifted to the key Adam had given me, as my thoughts went to him. I was looking forward to being able to see him again, and was debating going out for a walk and hoping to run into him or Carter when I heard a knock at my door. I dropped the key, causing it to landed softly against my chest. I was curious who was at the door, since I had assumed everyone was at church, and I only waited long enough to tug my hair over my cheek before I answered the door.

"*Hi Carter." I clicked, smiling when I saw the small prawn. He smiled, and replied "*Hi Victoria. Adam asked me to ask you if he could come up to hang out and talk for a bit."

"*Of course he can, you can hang out with us too, if you want." I relied, thrilled that he was going to come over.

Carter nodded. "*I'll tell him what you said. Be back in a few minutes." he said,before he headed downstairs. I smiled, and closed the door, before I headed towards my room. I wanted my bruise to be covered, but I also wanted to brush my hair. I decided to brush my hair first, and had just finished when I heard a knock on the door. With a silent sigh, I covered the bruise with my hair and went to the door, smiling with out realizing it, as I let Adam and Carter in.

* * *

"*Sorry it's kind of messy. I'm still moving in." I clicked as they entered. "*It's fine." Adam replied, smiling at me. I smiled back, and we sat down on the couch with Carter sitting between us. I saw him notice the picture, and I was wondering if he would ask about who it was, when Carter asked for him.

"*that's my mother. She died when I was ten." I clicked.

"*Oh...that must have been hard." Adam clicked.

"*It was, but I know she wouldn't want me to be sad. And I have my memories of her." I replied, smiling slightly as I remembered for a split second the time we had tried to make cookies, and had almost burnt the house down. My dad had tried to scold us, but we all ended up just laughing about it.

"*I wish I had known my mom..."Carter said softly, which surprised me.

"*What do you mean, Carter?" I asked, feeling curious.

"*Carter was abandoned when he was born...I took him as a brother since I didn't want him to die so soon." Adam replied quietly.

We were silent for a few moments, before Carter spoke up.

"*In a way, I'm glad Adam took me in..." he clicked softly. "*He's a really great brother..."

"*I guess thats a good example of something my mom used to say..." I said softly. "*'always think positive, even in the darkest situations'.'"

Adam nodded. "*Your mother must have been very wise." he said softly.

I nodded, and in doing so, my hair shifted a slight bit, revealing a sliver of my bruise. I realized this when I saw a look of concern in Adam's eyes, and I tugged my hair back over my cheek.

"*What happened to your cheek?" Adam asked, and I recognized the tone he used, a tone that said he cared, but he wouldn't push me. I sighed softly, and decided to let my new friends know a bit more of my past.

* * *

"*My ex-boyfriend did that...the night I left. He had found out I could speak Poleepkwan..." I replied softly. "*He was always doing this kind of thing when I dated him...I'm not even sure why I stayed with him." I was looking at my hands, slightly afraid of how Adam would react. When I didn't hear him say anything, I looked up through my hair to see his reaction, and was a bit startled to see how angry he looked.

"*Is that why you came here?" he asked softly after a moment.

"*one of the reasons...I was planning on moving here soon anyways, having this happen just made it happen sooner." I replied.

He nodded, and Carter tugged on my sleeve gently to get my attention. When I looked at him, he asked me "*why would he hurt you?" hearing the question said in such an innocent tone, I felt like crying for a moment, before I replied "*I never truly found out...I guess it made him feel powerful."

* * *

After a few moments, Adam thankfully changed the subject by asking me what my hobbies were. I replied that I didn't really have any, and we ended up talking about different hobbies and about the group. He left around 5, and I was just about to take a shower, I heard another knock on my door. Thinking it might be Adam or Carter, I didn't cover my cheek with my hair more then to just move it over the worst, but when I opened the door, Tyler was standing there. I instinctively moved my hair a bit more to cover the bruise, and if he noticed it, he didn't say anything.

"You posted on your site that you needed to talk to me about the meetings?" he said, smiling slightly.

"oh yea, I'm sorry, bit of an...emotional day." I replied, as I pulled the door open a bit more so he could come in. He did, and we ended up sitting on the couch.

"So, you wanted to know if we could start the meetings next week?" he asked, tilting his head to one side.

I nodded. "I just need to make sure thats fine with you, and I'd like to see the house before we start having meetings there." I replied, wondering when we could do that.

"OK,when are you available to go by and check it out?" he asked.

"anytime after I get off work...so about three o'clock-ish. When's good for you?" I replied.

"anytime is good. I don't have a job, since my uncle sends me money."he replied.

"OK,how does tomorrow sound?" I asked, wondering if I should try to contact my dad, since I had only heard from my stepmother.

"Sounds good, just stop by my apartment whenever you're ready to go." he replied, snapping me back to reality. I nodded, and he left, saying he didn't want to keep me from anything I needed to do.

After he left I checked my alarm clock for the next morning, then cleaned my apartment, not wanting it to be messy the next time someone visited. After taking a shower, I curled up on the couch with a book, and completely relaxed...it was bliss.


	10. an email that shall change us all

The next morning, I was gratefully able to sleep another hour or so before I had to wake up, since Diana had called the night before to let me know she would be back at work. She had asked me why I hadn't been at church, to which I replied I simply didn't go to church, and she didn't ask about it further. When there was a break in the flow of customers, she turned to me.

"Hey dear, Phil and I were wondering if you would like to come over tonight to hang out for a bit. He wants to talk to you about hiring you to work at MNU." she was beaming, and I forced myself to smile, as I often did when someone mentioned MNU.

"I'm sorry, I already have plans for after work." I replied, mentally sighing in relief.

"Oh. Tomorrow, then." she replied, still beaming. I wanted to say that I didn't want to work at MNU, but she had to help a customer, so I had no further say in it.

* * *

After I had finished work, I went back to my apartment and knocked on Tyler's door. When he answered the door, he smiled in a way I couldn't resist but react to with a smile just a bright.

"Hey, just get of work?" he asked, as he brushed his dark hair out of his eyes.

I nodded. "Bit of drama though...my boss's husband, who's an MNU agent, wants to talk to me about working for them." I said, sighing as we walked downstairs towards his car.

"What? How did you react?" he asked, his shock heavy in the air.

"I told her I was busy today..but she just said I'd come over tomorrow,then." I replied. "I am definitely not going to work there..." I muttered. I knew from looking out my window how they sometimes treated the Poleepkwa, and I wanted no part in it.

"How do you think she'll react?" he asked, as we turned onto a street that had only one or two houses on it.

"No idea. She seems really happy all the time...I've never seen her in a bad mood." I answered as he pulled into the driveway of a small but cozy looking house.

"Well, on a lighter note, we're here." he said, as he turned the car off.

I nodded, and climbed out of the car, noting that there was only one other house down the street that had no sign of anyone living there.

"That house is empty, in case you're wondering." he said, answering my question.

"Well, that's good...we won't have to worry about any neighbors freaking out." I said softly, brushing my hair back as we walked into the house.

* * *

It was bigger inside then it looked on the outside, but it was very cozy. There was mismatched and overstuffed furniture in the room I could see, and a fireplace. I walked around the house a bit, to find that every room had a very cozy feel to it. It reminded me of the house I used to live in, before my stepmom made us move, and I felt tears prick my eyes when I thought of my mom. Wiping them away quickly, I walked back to were Tyler was waiting.

"So, what do you think?" he said, smiling in an odd, quirky way, as though he knew what I was thinking.

"I think it's perfect..." I replied, smiling back at him. He stood up from his spot on the couch, and glanced around the room quickly. "I could get better furniture for here if you want." he said, as I shook my head.

"The mismatched furniture adds to it's coziness." I replied, and he nodded before he headed towards the door.

"I'll make a copy of the keys for you tomorrow, so you can come here without me if you want to."

"OK, thanks." I replied, standing behind him as he locked the door and headed towards the car.

* * *

A few minutes later, he dropped me of at my apartment, saying he needed to go to the store. I nodded, and waved as he pulled away, before I headed upstairs to post on my site about the meeting.

When I checked my email, after updating the site, I saw a message from Diana. The subject read 'tonight', and I could guess what she was messaging me about.

Dear Victoria

Dear, I know you said you had plans for tonight already, but I'm hoping that you will be home to receive this. It is 4:30 P.M., and if you aren't busy, I'd like to send Phil over to pick you up. He will be coming by your apartment at 5 to see if you are there, and he will call you to find out were you are if you aren't home. He really would like you to be on the MNU team, so we can help keep the prawns in order.

From,

Diana.

For a moment, I sat staring at the screen, shocked by the fact that I was going to be going over that night, whether I wanted to or not. Since I had no choice, I walked defeated into the bathroom, and brushed my hair before I braided it, and made sure that my bruise was still covered. I was tying my sneakers when I heard Phil knock on the door, and I pasted a smile onto my face, unaware that by the end of the night, I would want to sob.


	11. He knows

"Thanks again for coming." Diana said, beaming. I shifted nervously in my seat. I was slightly creeped out by the fact she was beaming at me, when she had almost forced me to come. After a moment, Phil entered, carrying a tray with three beers on it. He handed one to Diana, and tried to hand one to me, but I shook my head.

"I don't drink beer, but thanks." I said, hoping if I was polite they would let me leave sooner.

With a shrug, Phil put the bottle on the table, and sat down next to Diana.

"AS Diana should have told you, I'm interested in having you join us at MNU." Phil started, but I shook my head.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm happy working at the deli." I said, not telling the whole truth. I was happy working at the deli, but I flat out would not work for MNU. If he had offered me a job at an office or something, I might have taken the offer.

"Well, you could work at MNU part time." he replied, smiling in a way that creeped me out even more.

"Again, thanks, but no thanks." I said, standing up. "If you don't mind, I'd really like to get home."

With a sigh, Diana said "alright, dear. Phil, walk Victoria to the door." she stood up, and walked into the living room. Phil stood, and walked me to the door, as she had asked. When we were almost to the door, though, he suddenly grabbed my arm in a way that scared me. I was about to protest, until I got a look at his face. It was red with anger, and I could see the blood veins in his eyes. I kept quiet, recognizing his anger, and tried to tug my arm out of his grip.

"You think your such a good pretender, don't you?" he hissed, tightening my grip so much a quiet squeal escaped my lips. "You will work for MNU, and if you keep refusing, I'll kill those fucking prawn you're always with." he laughed at the look of pure horror on my face, before pushing me towards the door. I stumbled slightly, but caught myself and glared at him before I pulled the door open and walked out of the house.

* * *

I walked towards home in some kind of state of shock, I guess I looked pretty out of it because the next thing I knew, I was standing near my apartment and Carter was tugging in my jeans. When I looked at him, he clicked"*are you OK?" I think I shook my head, because he looked even more worried. "*I'm going to go with you to your apartment to make sure your OK...OK?" he asked after a moment, and I know I nodded, because he gently grasped my hand and we started to walk to my apartment. I know we saw Tyler on the stairs, and that he asked Carter something, but I had no idea what. After a few moments, all three of us walked to my apartment, and sat on the couch. "*OK, what's wrong,Victoria?"Carter clicked, and for some reason, I guess the familiar room, I was able to respond. "*Phil told me he wants me to be an MNU agent, when I refused, he grabbed my arm and said if I didn't agree, he'd kill you and Adam." I replied, forgetting Tyler was there.

"Wait, what?" he said, gently shaking me. "you can speak to them?"

I nodded mutely then repeated what I had told Carter in English.

"Phil, the guy you told me about earlier? He said that?" Tyler exclaimed. I nodded again, and shook my head slightly, trying to push the shock away.

It helped a bit,and I noticed Tyler was staring at me. "What?" I said, feeling a bit like a bug on a microscope slide.

"Nothing...just a bit shocked by you speaking Poleepkwan..." he muttered.

"Sorry...as bad as it sounds, I forgot you had come up with Carter." I said, mentally adding an anime sweat drop.

He laughed quietly. "It's fine...does MNU know?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Not that I know of...Phil would have probably told me if they did..." I added.

He sighed, then nodded. "I guess thats true. Are you going to be able to go back to work?" he asked.

"No idea...I guess I'll have to see what tomorrow brings."

* * *

After I assured them I would be OK, Tyler left after he made me promise I'd call him if anything else happened, though Carter stayed after he had left. After a moment of silence, he asked"*what are you going to do,Victoria?". I sighed. "*I don't know what I can do..." I replied, looking at my hands that were twisting together in my lap, like a silent dance that no one could follow.

"*Do you want Adam to come over later? He might be able to help." Carter asked, to which I shook my head. "*I don't want him to worry about me...but I don't want to keep this a secret from him..." I said softly, trying to figure it out. After a moment, Carter's small hands covered mine, and I looked up to see his eyes slowly filling with unshed tears.

"*Sometimes, it's good to let people worry. It let's you know they care." he said softly, and the weight of the statement, which I knew from so long ago to be true, finally let me release my tears, which I had kept locked away through years of pain.

Carter let me cry, gently crawling into my lap and hugging me, comforting me far greater then he could have imagined.

* * *

After a little while, he said he was going to go get Adam, and that he would be back in a few minutes. I nodded, and told him he could just come in when he got here, and he nodded once before he hurried out the door. After I had wiped the tears of my cheeks with a tissue, I heard Adam hurrying up the stairs before before he and Carter entered my apartment. The first thing Adam did, without saying a word, was to come over and just hug me. It startled me slightly, but I hugged him back, and we stayed like that for a minute or so before he let go and sat on the table across from me.

"*Carter told me everything...including that you didn't want to tell me at first?" he said, looking confused and a bit hurt.

I nodded slowly. "*I didn't want you to worry...but I didn't want to keep it a secret..." I replied.

"*It's fine, I can understand that...but it still hurt a bit." he replied.

I winced a bit, and he was about to ask me what was wrong, when I said softly."*I don't want to hurt you...I never want to hurt anyone..."

He gently took my hands in his, and said softly "*I know you don't...and I know old habits must be hard to break." I nodded, then replied"*that still isn't a good excuse...I should be able to tell my friends things."

After he assured me that he knew how hard it would be to break that habit, and he had hugged me again, he sighed sadly. "*It's times like these I hate the curfew..." he said sadly, and I realized with a jolt that it was almost nine.

"*It's OK...I'll see you tomorrow after work." I said softly, trying to make him feel better. He nodded, and he and Carter left as late as they possibly could, Carter promising he'd be waiting for me when I got home from work. I waved to them, smiling slightly, and waited until they were out of site before I walked back into my apartment and shut the door.

* * *

The next morning, I walked to work cautiously, not knowing how Diana would react to last nights episode. As soon as she saw me, she glared and hissed "You're a prawn lover?" I blinked at the harsh tone she was using, not used to it, but I replied "If you mean Poleepkwa, then yes."

This enraged her, and she threw a spatula at me. "GET OUT!" she screamed, causing the only other person I could see in the little deli to turn and stare.

With a sigh, I looked her in the eye and said "You don't have to fire me, you know."

She sighed in relief. "good, I knew this would win over those prawns."

"I quit." I said, loud and clear, before I walked out of the deli, resisting the urge to slam the door shut, leaving Diana to stare mutely after me.


	12. Bad memories?

**AN: I am sorry for my fail D': I didn't notice I had posted chapter 13 and hadn't posted chapter 12...I just noticed,so I had to fix that.**

* * *

After I had walked far enough that I knew that Diana couldn't hear me, I pulled out my cell phone and started to dial Tyler's number. I had almost finished dialing when I felt someone's hand clamp down on my shoulder, causing me to jump and almost drop my phone. When I turned around, I saw the person who had been at the deli when Diana had yelled at me.  
"Can I help you?" I asked, confused.  
"Yea, why was Diana yelling at you?" he asked,with a no-nonsense expression.  
"Simple, I have a different opinion on a political subject." I replied.  
"oh." he said, before turning and walking away. With a shrug, I started walking again, and finally finished dialing Tyler's number. I checked behind me to make sure no one else was going to ask me anything, and when I saw no one, I hit send. After a few rings, he picked up the phone, sounding slightly out of breath.  
"Hello?"  
"Hi Tyler, it's Victoria. You had said you wanted me to call if there was any drama at work?"  
"Oh, hi Victoria. I'm guessing there was drama?" he said, sounding a bit relaxed.  
"Yea, she threw a spatula at me and threatened to fire me. So I quit." I replied.  
"Seriously? You quit?" he said, sounding slightly shocked. I nodded, but remembered he couldn't see me.  
"Yea, I didn't want her to have the satisfaction of firing me." I stated, as I started up the stairs to my apartment.  
"i guess that makes sense. But what are you going to do about rent?" he asked, knowing I relied on my job to pay my bills.  
"I guess I'll try to contact my dad or something. Or get another job."  
I replied, as I unlocked my apartment and stepped inside.  
After dropping my keys on the table and turning on my light, I saw that I had left my laptop on when I had left, which was odd. I checked the screen, and I saw I had a new email. I didn't recognize the address, but I figured it was just someone messaging me about the group, so I opened it.  
It was a three page rant form Phil, including more threats if I didn't join MNU. I read the whole thing, just to be safe, and I saved it in a folder as evidence for if I ever got the cops to see what was happening.  
After I had checked the rest of my email, I pulled up my dad's email address. I put in the email that I was doing OK, but had to quit my job because my boss didn't like my views on a political subject. I added that I didn't want to sound greedy, but I would like to be sent money to pay my bills and such. I ended it by asking him not to mention the email to my stepmom, since I knew she wouldn't let him send me money, even if he wanted to. I had just hit send when I heard someone knocking on my door, and I checked through the peephole to see who it was.  
I was a bit surprised to see Zander, since I hadn't seen him anywhere since he had moved in, but I pulled open the door anyways.  
"Hi." I said,tilting my head so I was leaning against the door.  
"Hi." he replied, smiling. "Just wanted to see how you're holding up with the drama at work."  
"Yea, I'm trying to figure out how I'll pay the bills now, but other then that, I feel great. I was able to stand up for something I believed in." I replied, smiling.  
"well, that's good. Oh, you said the meeting's on Sunday?" he asked, and I nodded. "I posted the address on the blog, but I'm not sure what time anyone will come, since most people have church."  
"you don't?" he asked,tilting his head.  
"no,I'm pagan." I replied. He nodded, and we chatted for a few minutes about the group before he headed back to his apartment, saying he'd see me later. I waved, and closed the door. When I walked back into my living room, I saw I had a new email. When I checked the sender, I saw it was my dad. He had gotten my message, and he was going to keep putting money into my bank account, so I could keep my spot a secret. He added that he most likely knew were I was, and he was hoping it wouldn't bring up bad memories. Confused, I emailed him back, asking him what he meant. His reply was quick.

Victoria,

by bad memories, I mean the loss of your friend from when you were six. I don't know if you've forgotten it all, but your mother used to visit someone who lived near D-9. She had told me you often played with a young Poleepkwa who was your age, and she was amazed when you were able to talk to him. It turns out you had been learning how to speak Poleepkwan when you were 5 or so simply by playing with him.  
But, shortly after your sixth birthday, you were spotted playing with him by a MNU agent...he shot your friend, and was threatening to arrest your mother. You went into shock, worse then when you were ten, and a therapist said you had blocked the memory entirely. I am sorry if this brings it all back to the surface, and I'm sorry if it hurts you... but I feel you should know how you are able to speak Poleepkwan.

Love,  
your father.

For a moment, I sat stunned, staring at the screen. A flood of memories, ones that I now remembered locking away, come rushing back. Yes, I remember him, my little gray and blue friend, whom I thought was my best friend in the world, and that we would be friends forever. I remembered the fun we always had...and how it all fell apart.


	13. Carter always makes me smile

I felt a tear escape, and I forced the memory of it all ending away, focusing on every time we had fun. It helped me, and I wondered how my dad had known about me being able to speak Poleepkwan,since I never told him, but I didn't have that much time to think about it, since I could hear Carter on the stairs, and I wanted to be able to talk with him.

"*Hey Victoria" Carter clicked happily, as walked inside and sat on the couch. "*Hey Carter" I replied, sitting next to him after moving my laptop to the table. "*You OK? You seem slightly upset." Carter asked, and I was slightly startled by the fact he had picked up on that. After a moment, I replied "*I got an email back from my dad, and I found out how I can speak Poleepkwan."

"*Well, thats good...but why would you be upset about that?" he asked.

"*Apparently, I had been friends with a Poleepkwa and he was shot in front of me when I was six. According to my dad, I went into shock and locked the memories away. Reading the email unlocked them." I replied. I saw his eyes widen, and he tilted his head to the side, obviously confused. "*But your only a little upset...why is that?" he asked hesitantly, as thought he was afraid of the answer. "*Unlocking the memories allowed me to remember him. So, in a way, I got more good memories then bad." I replied. Carter smiled slightly, and I decided to change the subject. "*anyways, how was your day?"

Carter proceeded to tell me almost every detail of his day, including the play date he had with the Poleepkwa who lived in the shack next door. After a few moments, he asked me how my day was, and I told him about what had happened earlier that morning.

"*She really did that?" Carter asked,eyes wide. I nodded. "*Yea, it was kind of a surprise to me too." he was about to say something when I heard someone knock on my door. Carter's eyes darted around, looking for someplace to hide I guess, and I walked quietly to the door. Looking through the peep-hole, I sighed in relief when I saw it was Tyler.

"It's OK, it's just Tyler." I called to Carter, and I could feel him relax a bit. I pulled the door open, and smiled slightly.

"Hey Tyler."

"Hey Victoria. I just wanted to drop of a copy of the keys for you" He said, smiling as he handed me a set of keys.

"Thanks." I replied, putting the keys on the table.

"Anyways, any more drama since I talked to you last?" he asked jokingly.

"Actually, I found out how I can speak Poleepkwan." I replied.

"Really?" he asked, eyes widening slightly. "How?"

I explained to him about my friend who had been killed, and I could see he was slightly concerned.

"In a way, I'm glad I remember... I'm able to remember all the fun we had together." I said, in response to his expression. He smiled, before quickly asking "Oh, I was wondering if you'd like to hang out later...? but I'm guessing you're already busy tonight." he added, seeing Carter peeking out at us.

"*He likes you." Carter clicked teasingly. I felt my cheeks reddening slightly, before I quickly clicked back "*Does not. We're just friends." I felt sure this was true, but Carter giggled quietly. "*if you say so." he replied, before disappearing from view.

Tyler laughed quietly, and asked "What did he say?"

"He was just teasing me about something I told him happened earlier." I lied, not wanting him to find out what Carter had really said, since I didn't want our friendship to become awkward. He laughed again, and nodded.

"And to answer your question about to night, I do have Adam coming over, but he and Carter will have to be back at D-9 for curfew, we could hang out after they've gone home if you want." I was hoping this didn't make me sound rude, but he smiled, and nodded. "OK, sounds good to me. Just come down to my apartment when you're ready." he replied. I nodded, and waved good-bye as he walked downstairs.

When I reentered the living room, Carter was staring at my laptop screen. "*I think you got an email or something." he clicked, when he saw me. "*thanks." I replied, looking at the screen. I did have a new email, and when I clicked on it, I was slightly shocked at who it was from.

Victoria

listen baby, I'm really sorry for what I did. You know how I get with these things...I really didn't mean to hurt you. And I wouldn't even think of carrying out the threat my friends told me I said. I'm surprised and upset that you haven't responded to my calls or texts yet, so please, please, respond to this email. I love you baby, and I need you.

Still yours (Hopefully),

Jack.

I hissed quietly under my breath, but hit the reply button,figuring that this would be a good way to get rid of him once and for all.

Jack

I'm sick and tired of how you've always treated me in the past. I only stayed with you through it all because I kept thinking 'maybe this time he means it, maybe I can help him to stop using his fists to get a point across...' but you never kept your promise. Since I have left, I've learned more about myself, and about how to be strong. In doing so, I realized that I should have left you long ago. Please don't contact me again.

Victoria.

I hit the send button, and flopped back on the couch, sighing quietly.

"*Was that an email from your ex?" Carter asked.

I nodded. "*He always does this kind of thing. He feels bad about something he did, so he tries to get me to take him back...but I am done with him." I replied.

He nodded, and we chatted about anything that came to mind until Adam arrived.


	14. There's nothing I can do

"*Hey."Adam clicked as he entered, and I could tell he was smiling. I smiled back, and when he asked how my day was, I told him about Diana, Jack, and the email from my dad. I added that I was actually feeling better, more confident, and he nodded. I was just about to ask him how his day was when he caught a glance of the clock.

"*oh..it's almost nine..." he clicked sadly. I looked at the clock, confirming this, and I sighed. "*sorry, I didn't realize it was that late already." I replied. He shrugged, his way of saying it was fine, and he gave me a hug before he headed towards the door. Carter said he'd come by when he had time tomorrow, but he wasn't sure when that would be. After they had left, I shut down my laptop and brushed my hair, holding it in different styles before I decided to just leave it down. I grabbed my cell phone and my keys, and headed downstairs to Tyler's apartment.

* * *

"Hey, you made it!" Tyler, exclaimed when he opened his door. I smiled, and he lead me to his living room. He motioned for me to sit on the couch, which I did, and he sat next to me. He turned so he was facing me, and I copied him, smiling slightly when our eyes met.

"Anyways, other then the stuff you told me about earlier, how's life?" he asked.

"It's OK, I got an email from my ex-boyfriend." I replied.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" he asked, to which I sighed softly.

"In a way,both." I said. "He doesn't know were I am, I don't think, but I was able to tell him that I didn't want anything to do with him." I added. I could see the curious look in Tyler's eye, and I remembered suddenly I hadn't told him about Jack. I was thinking about telling him, when he said softly

"Did he hurt you?"

I nodded, but I wasn't sure how to respond.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you told him off then." Tyler said, smiling. I smiled back, and we left the topic in a shadowy cornet, deciding to talk about the group.

A few hours later, I walked back up to my apartment. Tyler had a few good ideas for the group, and he had said I would be in charge of most things, since I was the founder, but he would help whenever I wanted it. I unlocked my door, and didn't do much other then drop my keys on the table and take of my shoes before I crawled into bed and fell fast asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt a bit odd, most likely from sleeping in my street clothes, and I padded into the living room. I turned on my laptop, and took a shower while it booted up. After I had gotten dressed, I checked my email, and saw another email from Phil. With a sigh, I read it over before putting it in the folder. I brushed my hair, and headed out to find a new job.

* * *

A little while later, I stopped at a diner to have something to eat, and to look over the classifieds again. I had asked at a flower shop that was Poleepkwa-friendly, but the owner had said that she had no openings, since her only other employee was good enough to do the work of three. She had said she'd keep an eye out for a job for me, and I gave her my email address. I was planning on sending her an email about the group, but for now I just needed a job.

I guess I was absorbed in the paper, because I didn't notice the person who had walked up until they sat across from me. When I did notice, I almost hissed when I saw it was Phil.

"Well well. The girl who refused to leave my wife's deli sure left in a hurry yesterday." he said, grinning.

"I'm guessing she didn't tell you she was going to fire me?" I said, trying to keep my anger out of my voice.

"Remember, my...bargain...still stands. Join MNU so I can keep my end of the deal."

"...you mean you wouldn't hurt them..."I said softly, seriously thinking how,even if I hated my job, I would be able to keep them safe.

"Of course! That was the deal,wasn't it?"

"You never said a deal...just a threat." I said. I knew no one would hear since we were alone in the room, the waitress had gone outside for a cigarette.

"True, but now I'm making a deal. You join MNU, and all those prawns you hang out with won't get hurt...and I won't tell MNU about that little group you're oh so pathetically starting."

I felt ice in my veins when he said this, and I looked down.

"Can I think about it, and get back to you later?" I asked softly. I hated that I was caving in, but the promise that Adam and Carter wouldn't be hurt...I felt like I'd do anything for that.

"I want my answer by tonight...or the deals off." he replied, getting up and leaving moments before the waitress reappeared.


	15. The first meeting

After I had eaten, I headed home to think about what Phil had said. I decided to talk to Tyler about it, and I walked towards his apartment. Just as I was about to knock on his door, it swung open, and Tyler was standing there smiling.

"Oh! Hi Victoria." he said,looking surprised. "What's up?"

"I ran into Phil again...he said if I don't tell him my decision by tonight he's doing to harm Adam and Carter." I said softly. "He also said if I did join, he could guarantee that none if the Poleepkwa I know would be hurt...and he wouldn't have me arrested for starting Liberation Front." I added.

"He knows about that?" Tyler hissed.

"Apparently." I replied. "I have no idea what I should do...but I think the only thing to do is to agree to his demands..."i added, feeling a few tears spring to life.

Tyler sighed. "I really don't know either...I think this is something you have to decide on your own..."

I nodded, and headed up to my room, knowing that I would have to join, simply because I wanted to keep my friends safe.

After Adam and Carter had both arrived, I talked to them about what had happened. Adam was sad that I had decided to do it, but when I told him my only reason, he looked a bit shocked.

"*you would do that...for us?" he clicked, smiling slightly.

I nodded. "*of course I would...I'd do anything for my friends."

He nodded, and I promised I'd still see him. He might be able to come over still, and I might even be able to go into D-9 without a problem. He seemed a bit happy at this thought, and said he'd see me at the meeting tomorrow. He had said someone they knew was going to give them a ride, so I didn't have to worry, and I said I'd be going over a bit early to set things up. He nodded, and he and Carter left for D-9 as I wrote the hardest email in my life.

Phil

Well, I've come to my decision... if you can promise, and not just say that the Poleepkwa I hang out with won't be hurt, I will join MNU... I truly don't want to, but I will do it to keep my friends safe. I am unavailable tomorrow, but I will be able to work Monday-Saturday...so please keep your end of the deal...I've kept mine.

Victoria.

* * *

When I checked my email the next morning, Phil had replied that he would send someone over to pick me up at 10 o'clock Monday morning, and that I would carpool with someone while I was working at MNU. I replied that I would be ready, and shut down my laptop, grabbing the keys of the table and heading to my car.

When I arrived at Tyler's house, I unlocked the door and stepped inside, pausing for a moment to relax. I was going to try to leave the drama from the last few days outside, and I was smiling when I walked around the house, opening a few of the blinds so that slivers of light fell onto the furniture. I didn't really have much to set up, since the couches and chairs were already in a nice arrangement were we could sit and talk, but I was at a loss of what else we could do. With a shrug, I walked back out to the car to grab the bags of snacks I had gotten, so I could set up a snack table in the dining room.

After I had done that, I walked upstairs out of curiosity. I walked past the master bedroom, and came to what I guessed was Tyler's room. It seemed to be a bit bare, with dark blue walls and a desk and bed. There were a few movie posters on the walls, and I saw some pictures on his desk. When I looked at them I saw Tyler posing with a pretty looking girl, and I could feel a bond between them. There were a few more pictures of the two of them, and I saw a small post-it attached to a picture of just the girl,I picked up the picture to read it.

_"She broke my heart, and I still love her..."_

I put the picture back down, and was about to keep looking around the house when I thought I heard someone pulling up to the house. I walked downstairs and someone knocked on the door as I reached the bottom step. Taking a deep breath, I moved to open the door.

When I opened the door, I saw Adam Carter, and an unfamiliar looking Poleepkwa. She was khaki colored, and I noticed some pink highlights.

"*Hey Adam, Hey Carter." I clicked, holding door open wider so they could walk in.

"*Hey Victoria, this is Tamara." Adam said, gesturing to the Poleepkwa.

"*Hi Tamara, I'm Victoria." I said, smiling.

"*...you can speak like us?"she asked, eyes full of curiosity.

I nodded. "*I had a Poleepkwa friend when I was little, I picked it up from playing with him." I replied. After they had sat down in the living room, the doorbell rang again, and I went to answer it.

When I opened the door, I saw a brown colored Poleepkwa and a girl with dark hair, so I smiled and said "Hi, are you here for the meeting?"

The girl nodded. "I'm Eve, and this is..."

"I'm Drake." he said, cutting her off. I smiled, and showed them to the living room, and was just about to sit down when the door bell rang again.

"Be right back" I said out of habit, as I walked to the door. I could hear Adam and Tamara talking, but I couldn't pick up what they were saying before I pulled open the door.

When I opened the door, I was slightly startled when I saw a group of six people.

"Hey Victoria." Called Tyler, waving from the back of the group. I laughed quietly and replied. "Hey Tyler." I didn't recognize anyone in my range of vision, but I thought I saw Zander standing next to Tyler. I didn't have time to say anything else before a girl who was standing near the front of the group started talking. "Hi! I'm Amy! This is Emily, Alice, and James." she said, pointing to the other three people I didn't recognize. "We already know who you are." She said when I was about to introduce myself. I laughed quietly, before I said. "Well, why don't you all come in and meet everyone else?"

"Sounds good." Amy replied, as I moved to the side so they could enter.

* * *

After we had all sat down, and everyone introduced themselves, they all looked at me. It was a bit intimidating, but I took a deep breath before I told them a bit about the group, such as how I got the idea to start it, and I answered the questions that everyone had. After a few minutes, Tyler asked my what I had done about the situation with Phil. With a sigh I replied "the only thing I could do...  
I agreed to his conditions...I start tomorrow." Tyler nodded sympathetically, before Alice asked "What does he mean by 'situation with Phil'?" I frowned slightly,having forgotten that only Tyler, Adam, Carter,and maybe Zander knew what I was talking about.

"I was threatened by an MNU agent that if I didn't join, he would either kill or hurt Adam and Carter...and any other Poleepkwa I hung out with." I replied,trying to keep it short and sweet. "He told me yesterday that if I joined, he wouldn't hurt anyone and he'd keep the group a secret."

I had been entirely prepared for harsh looks and scowls, so I was surprised when everyone said things like:

"What an awful choice!"

"What a Sacrifice!"

"*I can't believe she'd do that for us!"

After a few moments,Zander jokingly said "Well, we now have a spy at MNU! I guess that's kind of lucky, huh?" he said, looking at me.

"I guess it is." I replied, smiling slightly.

Thankfully, we spent the rest of the meeting talking about why everyone else was in the group, before everyone had to leave. Tyler volunteered to stay after to help me clean up, but I refused, and he left soon with Zander, Amy and Emily. James, who had been fairly quiet during the meeting, said he had to go to work anyways, so he walked off and took the bus. In the silence of the now empty house I was able to complete the cleaning quickly and arrived home shortly after ten. I double checked the email from Phil before I went to bed.


	16. A nightmare's a great start,isn't it?

_Gun shots flying, mommy mommy why can't I move? Why I can't I speak? Oh god, what happened to Dave? Please get up! mommy...were are you? That can't be you oh god oh god... I can't move again... I can't speak... oh god oh god... is there even a god? Oh god oh god I'm gonna die this time... I can't move and there's blood everywhere oh god oh god... why does this keep happening... oh god oh god..._

I woke up with a jolt, a scream wanting to push it's way past my lips. I took a deep breath instead, and was slowly able to calm down. I was very badly shaken at the dream, it had been like...a movie of all the shootings in my life... my Poleepkwa friend, who's name I now remembered to be Dave, my mother, and myself...and I had learned who had shot Dave, who had caused me pain. It had been Phil...all along.

* * *

I somehow managed to fall back asleep, and I woke up at 8:45. I took a shower and dressed, noticing when I brushed and braided my hair that my black and blue was gone. I smiled slightly, but sighed when I heard someone knock on the door. I knew it would be whoever I would have to car pool with, so I headed for the door, grabbing my keys and phone on my way.

"You must be Victoria" Said the man who was standing on my doorstop when I opened my door. "I'm Joe." he added.

"Hi Joe." I replied, as I locked my door.

"So,what made you decide to join MNU?" he asked as we walked down the stairs. For a moment, I debated telling him about the threats, but I realized that would be stupid, so I replied "only place that was hiring that I could get a ride to." I replied, managing to smirk slightly. He laughed, and we got into his car. Since he had to pay attention to the road, I shifted in my seat so I could look out the window, hoping that work wouldn't be bad, and knowing it would be.

"Hey Victoria. I'll take it from here,Joe." Phil said when we arrived. He had been waiting outside for us, and I saw Joe nod before heading inside. With a sigh, I followed Phil to a small room, wondering what my job would be.

"Here's your info." he said, tossing a manila envelope towards me. I caught it, and pulled out the first paper, which had my job on it.

**Non-Human Language Translator**

I felt my mouth go dry as Phil smirked. "You seriously thought we didn't know? I mean, you talked to them all the time nearby...it was so easy to figure out." when I didn't say anything, he added "Plus, I recognized you as the girl who always was playing with that fucking prawn ten years ago. Why do you think my wife hired you?" he laughed for a moment, before he lead me to get my ID made.

"You won't be working outside MNU, so you don't have to worry about that." he said with false cheer when we were walking down the hall. Since I was still shocked, I just nodded, before he handed me a lanyard with an ID on it and sat me at a desk.

"You'll stay here and just fill out paperwork and such until you're needed. Got it?" he said, and I nodded again. There was a good amount of paper work, and I spent most of the day filling it out, stopping only when it was time for lunch.

* * *

"I'm telling you, I've seen what they can do!" shouted the woman in front of me."They can't do that...can they?" her companion answered, sounding worried.

Since I had forgotten to pack lunch, I had gone to the cafeteria, though I was starting to regret it. It seemed overly loud here and I had no idea were to sit. I had decided to sit alone as I payed for my lunch, when I felt someone tap my shoulder. When I turned around, I saw Joe, holding a tray and still smiling. It creeped me out slightly, but I managed to smile back.

"Do you want to eat at my table? We usually have the newbies sit with us until they find their place here." he asked, gesturing with his head to a table that had only a few people sitting around it. I shrugged. "sure, I guess." he nodded, and we walked towards the table.

"Guys, this is Victoria. Victoria, this is Steven, Lisa, and Mark" he said, as he pointed to them. They waved slightly, said hi, and went back to eating. "They're always this way around new people. Before you know it, they'll be joking about what happened last weekend at the club."Joe whispered to me.

"Not true. I would tell you what happened at the club last night." Mark said, waggling his eyebrows. Lisa laughed. "Making a pass at her already? You move fast, Mark." she said, playfully whacking him on the head.

"I can't help it! You know I hit on all the newbies!"Mark complained. I shrugged slightly, and started to eat my lunch, ignoring the comment for the most part.

"You can see she's not interested, so leave her alone."Steven said. I shot him a quick smile for helping me, and had almost finished eating when Phil came over.

"Almost done with your paperwork?" he asked, the table having done silent when he approached.

I nodded. "Almost...who do I give it to when I'm done?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the table.

"Just call my extension. I'll come and pick it up. Joe, are you giving her a ride home?" he said, turning to Joe.

"Yea, of course." he replied. I heard Phil nod before he left, and I almost sighed in relief.

"You don't like Phil either, huh?"Steven asked when I looked up.

I shook my head. "He gives me a bad vibe..." I replied, not entirely lying. He did make me feel uneasy, which I always called 'giving of a bad vibe', and everyone else at the table nodded.

"He's known to be harsh..so if he does anything, let one of us know, OK?" Said Mark. I nodded, but I knew I wouldn't be able to tell them the truth.

"I better go finish the paperwork...nice meeting you all." I said, as I stood up and picked up my tray.

"Nice meeting you, too." they replied.

"Meet you in the front after work." Joe added. I nodded, and threw out my trash before doing back to my desk.

* * *

After a few more hours, I had finally finished the paper work. I called Phil to come get it, and was grateful when someone else arrived to get it for him, saying that Phil was in a meeting and he couldn't come get it. She gave me a schedule of what I would be doing the following day, and said I could leave at anytime. I told her thanks, and I headed down to the lobby just in time to see Joe starting to head to my office.

"Finally finished,huh?" he asked.

I nodded, "I have realized something...I officially hate paperwork." I replied, making a face. He laughed quietly, and we headed out to his car.

"So, what job do they have you doing?" Joe asked as he started the car.

"Non-Human Language Translator."I replied.

"You can understand them?" he asked, sounding surprised.

I nodded. "Yea, I've been able to since I was little."

He was about to say something but my phone rang, causing me to jump a bit. "Sorry, I should probably take this." I said, pulling the phone out of my pocket. He nodded, and slowed as we approached a stop light.

"Hey Tyler." I said, having recognized his phone number.

"Hey, just wanted to let you know Carter's waiting for you in your apartment. I had told him he could wait at my place, but I think he said that he'd rather wait for you there."

"Thanks for letting me know." I said, smiling.

"Anyways, do you need a ride home?"he asked,and I could hear the muted jungle of keys.

"No, Phil arranged for me to carpool with someone." I replied, suddenly realizing that it might not be smart for Carter to be in my apartment when I got home.

"Want me to warn Carter?" Tyler asked, as if he had read my mind.

"If you could."I replied, glancing over at Joe. We had started to move again, and we were getting close to my apartment.

"Got it. See you when you get home." he said, before he hung up.

I clicked my phone off, and tucked it back into my pocket.

"Neighbor?"asked Joe, looking over at me for a split second.

I nodded. "He wanted to make sure I had a ride home."

"That's nice of him...how many people live near you?"

"Only two others." I replied.

"I can see why." Joe chuckled, pulling onto my street. "I'll pick you up same time tomorrow, OK?" he said, pulling up to the building.

"alright, see you then." I replied, climbing out of the car.

He waved, and pulled away.


	17. Child's innocence and a visitor

A few minutes later, I was sitting on my couch with both Carter and Tyler. I had caught Tyler on the stairs on his way to my apartment, so I had invited him inside to talk with me and Carter. When Carter had seen it was just me and Tyler, he had ran over and hugged my legs,causing me to smile. I had knelt down to hug him properly, and we had moved to the couch to talk.

"What job do they have you doing?"Tyler asked.

"Non-Human Language Translator, apparently Phil's known I can speak poleepkwan the whole time." I replied.

"*How does he know?"Carter asked.

"He was the one who shot Dave."I replied. Noticing the looks of confusion, I explained my dream and how I had remembered my Poleepkwan friend's name. Tyler nodded, and said "Other then the job, how was your first day?"

"Incredibly boring, I had to fill out a good amount of paperwork."I replied. "But other then that, it was OK..."

I saw Tyler smile slightly, and I smiled back, wondering in the corner of my mind what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

After a few days,I fell into a routine. I would be the perfect MNU agent while at work,and not breath a word of my hate for them,or Phil. I wouldn't complain at all when I was called to translate,though I always seemed to creep out the guards who were stationed in the room. Soon,though,it was blissfully my day off,and the second meeting of Liberation Front. I had offered to give Carter,Adam,and Tamara a ride, and they had accepted happily. When we got there,Tyler was already there with his group of people,so we decided to wait only a few more minutes for Drake and Eve. While we waited, we chatted,and Tyler asked how my job was doing. I hesitated,then replied. "As long as I pretend I'm not the real me,it goes OK,no problems...It's annoying,though. I want to kill most of the people there for what they do,yet I'm working with them."

Adam gently hugged me from the side,since he always sat next to me,with Carter on my other side.

"*But you're different from them. You actually want to help us,and you made the group to do so."he clicked,smiling. I smiled back,and hugged him.

"*thanks,Adam." I replied,forgetting for a moment that no one else would be able to understand what we were saying.

Amy was about to ask,but Tyler just poked her and said "Let them chat,k? We don't need to know everything,and if it's important,she'd tell us."

"Well,yea...but I can't help it! I'm curious!"Amy replied.

"You have to admit,they do seem extremely close all the time."Alice said thoughtfully.

"Like best friends. Or lovers."James said with a grin.

I immediately blushed,but since I had no clue what to say,the room was silent. After a few moments,Carter giggled and said

"*That might be true,you know!"Adam looked a bit mad,but quickly said "*He means the best friends thing,right,Carter?"

He was looking over at Carter,same as everyone,and it seemed they said something without words before Carter replied.

"*yea, I did."

When I translated for everyone,they all sighed in relief and laughed over the whole incident. Adam and I joined in,but I couldn't help but think of what Carter might have meant. But I didn't know what I was feeling,or if that was even possible,so I kept quiet.

After the meeting was over,Tyler decided to come back

* * *

in my car and give Alice his keys. It was kind of fun, just chatting with him,Carter,and Adam,with me translating for Tyler. Once we got home, Adam and Carter gave me a quick hug before heading home, and Tyler said he would walk upstairs with me. I was still chattering about ideas from the group as we reached my floor,when Tyler went silent,staring over my shoulder towards my door. Confused,I turned and blinked. It was the person I defiantly did not want to see...today,or ever.

After the meeting was over,Tyler decided to come back in my car and give Alice his keys. It was kind of fun, just chatting with him,Carter,and Adam,with me translating for Tyler. Once we got home, Adam and Carter gave me a quick hug before heading home, and Tyler said he would walk upstairs with me. I was still chattering about ideas from the group as we reached my floor,when Tyler went silent,staring over my shoulder towards my door. Confused,I turned and blinked. It was the person I defiantly did not want to see...today,or ever.


	18. This will not end well,not at all

What the hell are you doing here,Jack?" I growled,glaring at the tall man with blond hair who was pacing in front of my apartment. He nervously smiled in reply,and took a few steps closer. "Your mom said you'd be here...I just needed to see you again..."he said,reaching out his hand in a way I remembered from when we still dated. He was expecting me to put mine in his, and 'swoon', forgiving him instantly. "And what makes you think I want to see you?" I asked,almost a growl. By this point,Tyler had taken a small step between us, glaring at Jack. "If she doesn't want you here,leave her be."

"Oooh,I get it. You didn't like me so you ran off to find another guy...geez,Victoria...for someone who seems shy at times, you sure are skan-" he was cut off when I moved in front of Tyler and swiftly kicked him. "Don't Even finish thinking that..." I growled,glaring down at him. He quickly stood,and moved to shove me against the wall,but I moved to the side just enough,and grinned slightly. "You're so pathetic..."I muttered,meeting his glare and wondering why I had ever even _liked_ him. Sure, his green eyes were inviting, and had seemed warm...but knowing how dark they could be helped a bit at kicking him. "Heh...and here I was going to give you something...I'll leave it with you,and you can open it later..."he said,turning and setting a small box on my door mat before he turned and brushed past Tyler. I could see Tyler was tempted to punch him,but I signaled with my eyes not to. He looked a bit surprised,but nodded.

"So...what's in the box,anyways?" Tyler asked as I sat on the couch next to him,handing him a soda.

"No idea...but I guess I better look..."I replied,setting my water down and carefully picking up the little box.

It was about the size of a ring box, and was wrapped in pale blue paper with a white ribbon wrapped around it. Carefully tugging the ribbon off, I set it aside figuring I could use it for a head band or something,since it was kind of long and about two inches wide. Carefully tugging the wrapping paper off revealed...a black velvet ring box. "Great...I have a hunch what this is..."I muttered,sighing softly.

"..I kind of do too...but we won't know for sure until..."

"Until I open it..."I finished for him,taking a deep breath and tugging it open.

* * *

Nestled inside of the box was exactly what I expected. It was an engagement ring..and not just any engagement ring...it was the one his mom shown me back when we were still together...the one his grandmother passed down to him.

"Should have known...he's the type to do this..."I muttered,sighing quietly.

"What are you going to do? I'd say you can't marry him, but..."Tyler said,trailing of slightly and taking a drink of his soda.

"There is no way I'm going back to him...I'll just give the ring back and say 'no'...even if it will piss him off..."I added,sighing.

"Let me know when he comes back...I'll be here to help...I'd say ask Adam to come over,but..."

I cut him off quickly by shaking my head. "That...would just make Jack more angry...and I do _not_ want him whipping out his gun again...it was bad enough last time.." upon saying this,i blinked rapidly,since I hadn't told Tyler about getting shot by Jack...hell,I never even told Adam! I could tell by his expression he wanted to ask,but he thankfully didn't.

"I don't want him getting hurt either...plus, he's pretty protective of you...it would most likely go bad for Jack if he was here..."

"true...I don't want Adam to get into trouble because of this..."

"Yea...with the way Phil keeps an eye on you,it would be known quickly...but if he does get violent..."here he smirked ever so slightly. "I'll beat him up for you."he said,to which I had to smile.

"Thanks Ty...you're a really great friend..."

* * *

The next day, still a bit shaken from having Jack appear, I didn't pay much attention at work. After I had been there an hour, though, I heard someone come over and I looked up, curious.

"Oh,Hey Susan." I said, smiling like I always did at work.

"umm,Hi Victoria...umm, Phil said he wanted me to take you to meet someone...umm,he just got back from a vacation...and he brought his daughter to work...so,umm...can you come,please?" Susan said, nervously twisting a strand of hair.

"Oh,sure..."I replied, a bit surprised. Shrugging slightly, I stood and followed her to the break room, where a thin yet friendly looking man, talking to a young looking girl. Susan nervously cleared her throat, and they both looked up. "Umm,Phil said he wanted her to meet you...and umm he said he wanted that as soon as possible...sorry..."she quickly said,and I carefully put a hand on her shoulder. "Susan...calm down...ok? I don't think you want to have another panic attack." I said,smiling slightly in a caring and friendly way. Even if I did hate MNU, Susan was actually kind of nice. She was only there because she needed a job to get through college, and her friend had pulled some strings to get her in.

Susan nodded,and took a few deep breaths, before she smiled slightly. "Thanks Victoria..I'll see you later..."she added quickly, stepping away and turning to leave. I gave a slight wave to her retreating back, before I turned back to the two people in front of me.

"Hi..I'm Victoria..." I said,a bit unsure.

"Ah,so you're our new translator!" The man said,smiling. "I'm Wikus Van De Merwe, and this is my daughter,Molly." he said, gesturing to the girl

"Hi Molly." I said, and she looked over at me before looking back at her dad. Ignoring that for now, I ended up chatting with Wikus about work, and then life for a little while. He showed me a picture of his wife, and I had to admit she was beautiful. I said so, and he beamed.

* * *

"Night Susan. Try and hang in there,OK?" I said,smiling slightly and waving good-bye to Susan as I left. She waved back with a more relaxed smile then before, which I took to be a good sign. Once outside,I sighed softly, and started towards home. Joe had been out that day with an emergency, so I had walked that day, which I actually liked. I didn't get to walk that much lately, since I was always stuck in a car pool. After I had been walking for about five minutes, my phone rang, and I fished it out of my pocket. A quick check of the caller ID told me who it was, and I smiled slightly.

"Hey Ty."

"Hey Tori...listen,I feel really bad about this,but...I can't come over later...My ex is in town, and she wants to make up...I'm sorry...I can tell her we can talk later,if you need me."he added quickly.

"It's ok,Ty. Don't worry about it. I'll call you later and let you know how it went, OK? And I hope everything works out with your ex." I added, and I heard him chuckle softly. "Yea,I hope so too."

After we had chatted for a few more moments, he had to go, apologizing again about everything. I kept saying it was fine, but who knows if he believed me?

* * *

Once I got back to the apartment building, I sighed softly through my nose, and started up the stairs.

~Well, Even if Ty can't be here...how bad could it be? It can't be much worse then anything in the

past...~ I thought, pulling my keys out as I neared my floor. ~Well...here's hoping,anyways.~ I thought, as I reached the top and Jack turned to face me. "Hey" He said, with an honest-to-the-stars "I love you" look. It made me want to gag a bit, and I was a bit surprised that I had a momentary thought...if it had been from someone else, I would have loved it..but from Jack...it made me sick. Shaking my head slightly, I brushed past him to my door. "Might as well come in..."I said, unlocking it and pushing it open, thankful I had warned Carter to not come over after work.

* * *

Once we had sat down, him on the couch and me on the table edge across hi, and to the side slightly, I handed him back the ring. "My answer...is no. You've put me through to much, and I know that you will never change."

I could see his eyes sort of...glaze over, and I tensed,standing slowly and moving a step or two backwards. "Jack..I think you should leave." I said quietly, keeping my voice steady, while inside I was panicking.

"No. I'm not leaving...not yet,anyways." He said,standing and setting the ring on the table, reaching into his pocket.

"Jack...I want you to get the hell out." I said,raising my voice a bit.

"...I said no...you seem to like using that, so why can't I?" he said, his eyes now flashing with anger as he pulled out a knife.

~shit...~ I thought,my eyes widening slightly as I took another step back.~Maybe I should have asked Ty to come,after all...~


	19. Go to Hell,Jack

"You know, One would think a low life bitch like you would appreciate it if a guy showed her a smudge of attention..and here, I've been with you...in more ways then one" here he got a smug look on his face,and I growled. "You know I said no to that."

He shrugged. "No is just a word~ and actions can't be stopped by words" he said,grinning again, before he continued his previous thought.

""You know, I only beat you for your own good. You have to beat low lives, or they start thinking they're better then that. It's like dogs...they have to be punished. And who better to punish you...then me?" he said, taking another lunged at me and managing to cut my arm as I dodged his attack.

"So I'm a dog now? Funny, I seem to remember you being nice to me when we were little...then again, it just shows how full of shit you really are."

He growled at this, and picked a book up off the table,which he threw at me. I ducked it, and was tempted to hide behind the counter and just call 911. But what could they do? They sure as hell never helped before.

"Damn bitch! Stand still already!" Jack growled, louder then before.

"There is no way in hell I'd do that! I'm sick of just standing around and letting you beat the shit out of me!" I yelled back, my hands curling into fists.

He growled again, and then did one of the most stupid, yet smart, things ever. He threw the knife at me.

While the knife did impale itself in my arm, causing me to cry out in pain, he no longer had a weapon now. He realized this, and started yelling about how he was an idiot, and looked around to see if he could find a weapon.

I was pretty much ignoring him,for the most part, and I was using dish towels from the kitchen counter to brace the knife in place, so it wouldn't cause any more damage. I heard Jack pick something up, and ducked automatically, seeing a crystal vase I had just put out a few days ago fly over my head and smash into the wall.

"You really need to take some god damn anger management classes!" I yelled, as I gave a final and gentle tug at the dish towels I had tied around my arm,bracing the knife in place.

Standing carefully, I met his glare with one of my own, and was a bit pleased to see him seeming to squirm. In the silence,though,I heard quite a few people running up the stairs,and I broke my glare to look at the door, a dumb move on my part, since Jack chose that moment to pick up the picture frame with my mother's picture, and threw it at my head. Since I didn't have time to react, it hit, shattering and digging speck sized shards of glass into my eye."Fuck!" I growled,catching the picture frame before it fell and brushing the small bits off my cheek, causing rivers of blood to start snaking down my face as I desperately tried not to blink. Knowing my luck, that would make this all that much worse, and possibly blind me. After what seemed like a lifetime, I heard someone knock on the door, and when Jack shouted "Go the fuck away!", a stern voice replied "Open up!"  
He didn't move, and I couldn't,since I was doing my best to move as little as possible, someone broke the door down and about three cops came in, with Zander hesitantly following. They all had their guns out,which made me tense up, but when one of the cops saw me, he quickly put his away and came over.  
I remember sliding down to the floor at that point, but I don't remember being helped downstairs, and into an ambulance, or Jack getting chased by a cop after he took off down the street in handcuffs.  
What I do remember,though, was wondering how I was going to explain this to my friends...with out them getting mad.

* * *

Once I arrived at the hospital, the doctors hooked me up to an IV, that must have had some pretty strong painkillers, because from what I was told afterwards, I was very loopy. Not that I remember that, but...They took care of my arm first, since I still had the knife sticking out of it. Turns out, it had hit a bone, so it was a good thing I hadn't pulled it out. Thankfully, it hadn't broke the bone, just cracked it. It would be healed in a matter of a few weeks, and it wouldn't affect me as much. Now, my eye was another matter. They got the glass out, but my eye had been cut a few times. The doctors had it covered for now, and were saying it would be fine,but...they didn't sound like they thought that. After a while, they moved me from the OR or wherever they had me to a room. It was a nice room, I guess...it wasn't a private room or anything like that, but that's fine. I asked about three times how long I would be there, and I was always ignored. I guess they didn't know, or didn't want to tell me...anyways, about an hour after they put me in the room, Tyler comes rushing in with a pretty looking girl following him.

"Oh my god,are you ok?"he said, quickly looking me head to toe, looking panicked.

"Ty! Calm down! I'm fine..."I said quickly, waving the hand that didn't have an IV needle in it in front of me.

"..You sure? I feel like it's my fault...If I hadn't of gone ahead and met up with Jane, I would have been able to keep this from happening!"

Here, I could see the girl, whom I'm guessing is Jane, tense slightly. Shaking my head rapidly and causing him to go silent,I sighed. "It still would have happened. He would have just hurt you first...he did that at one point when someone tried to help me in the past. So in a way, I'm glad you weren't there...besides, I couldn't exactly tell you 'no, don't meet up with someone who wants to make up', could I?"

"Yea,I guess...that wouldn't be like you,anyways..."Tyler said,relaxing a bit.

Here I smiled slightly, and I guess he saw that, because he smiled back. "So you're really fine?"

"Yea...I've had much worse then this...so a stab,cracked bone, and glass in my eye is nothing." I said, still keeping my smile and somewhat thanking the stars that Tyler hadn't been in the room for another reason...so he wouldn't hear the bit of my past no one knows about...I never even tried to tell the cops, based on how useless they had been. I guess I had to give them credit,though...they did do their job pretty well when needed.

"Oh my god...Adam is going to be very mad..."I said,my smile dropping and my face paling slightly.

"Oh no...your right..."Tyler said, looking panicked again.

"Excuse me...who's Adam?" Jane said,speaking up for the first time.

"My best friend...he's extremely protective of me,since I told him about Jack..."I said,in a half-whisper.

"Well,bring him here so he can see your fine,then!"Jane said,as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I guess I looked upset when she said this, or it dawned on her, or something, but she said "oh...Is he one of the members of LF?" She said, one of the best ways of asking without raising suspicion from the doctors.

I raised an eyebrow, about to ask, but she quickly said "I asked Tyler how he knew you..and he said he knew you from the building, and from LF...and he told me about LF...don't worry,I'm not like someone from MNU...I don't hate them..."

I will admit I was relived at this, but I only nodded.

"...I can see how that would be a problem...when are you getting out?"

"They won't tell me...but I want to get out as soon as I can...I hate hospitals..."I said,sighing softly.

"Hey, maybe I could have you call my cell or something, and you could talk to them on the phone..."

He trailed off when I shook my head. "Adam would just be more worried about why I can talk on the phone, but not in person..." ~And he'd wonder why I'm speaking English...~

"That is true...but wouldn't he be worried when he doesn't see you?" He pointed out, and I sighed.

"Yea,that is true...but I don't know how to explain this..."I muttered,gesturing to my eye and my arm at the same time.

"Yea...not to talk bad, but...I'm a bit afraid of how mad he'd get..." Tyler said,hesitantly, and I nodded slightly.

"Much as I hate saying it...I am too..."


	20. Adam really said that?

After a few days, the doctors let me out of the hospital with strict orders to keep my eye covered, and to keep my bandages on my arm dry. I already knew about keeping the bandages dry, and the eye thing, I guessed. As I was sighing out, they handed my a prescription for painkillers, and told me to use them as needed, and that I shouldn't be shy about asking for a refill when I ran out. I promised I wouldn't, took my cell phone and the other things that had been in my pocket when they took me in, and double checked that the key from Adam was around my neck still. They had been nice about that, which is surprising. They had said I wasn't supposed to have jewelry, or any of my belongings, but they let me have the key if I promised I wouldn't wear it. It was kind of comforting...I guess it was the 'something familiar in a hate place' kind of thing. Once I was out, I went down to the cop station to ask what had happened with Jack. They had said at first they couldn't give details, but when I pointed out I was the one attacked, they told me he was going to be put up for trial for both assault and attempted murder. From the looks of it, he'd get a high bail and at least 5 years, if not more. I thanked him and headed home, stopping at the pharmacy to get the prescription filled. ~I better stop by and see Adam and Carter as soon as possible...but I have a feeling Adam is going to be mad...~ I thought, as I waited for the prescription to be filled.

"OMG! What happened?" A preppy looking girl said, getting right in my face.

"None of your business." I muttered, moving to the side and thankfully hearing my name called, so I could slip past to the counter and pay.

Once I got home, Tyler was waiting outside. I had said I wanted to walk home,so he had said he would just meet me at the apartment, and he did wince slightly when he saw me.

"Looks that bad,huh?" I muttered,tugging my bangs slightly so it partially covered the bandages on my eye.

"No..it's just kind of...more real..seeing you in normal clothes with the bandages...oh...Adam and Carter are already upstairs." he added, moving aside as we headed up.

"I guessed that..."

When we reached the floor he shared with Zander, Zander poked his head out and smiled slightly. "Hey,good to see you back...hope you aren't mad at me for calling the cops..."

I rapidly shook my head, a dumb move on my part, since it made my eye hurt a bit.

"No..I'm not mad...I'm actually glad. It's about time his ass got in trouble..."I said,managing a smile, even though I was sore as hell. ~I am so taking a pain killer upstairs...v.v~ I thought.

Zander must have sensed I was a bit anxious to go to my apartment, because he said he'd talk to me later, and ducked back inside.

* * *

Once we reached my door, I carefully opened it, and was immediately almost tackled by Carter as he hugged me. Thankfully, Tyler was a bit used to it, and he made sure to keep me from falling.

"Hi to you too,Carter."I said,with a slight laugh. Once he let got, I noticed Adam was standing to the side, making no move to come closer. It hurt a little bit, and I guess it showed, because he looked a bit sad.

"*I don't want to worry about hurting you...sorry..."He said sadly. I nodded.

"*Understandable..."

After a few minutes, we all sat in the living room. I had taken a pill already, and was just relaxing.

Adam was sitting next to me, with Carter sitting on the table across from me, and they waited until we had talked about things like work, and family, before Carter asked "*How badly did he hurt you?"

I could feel Adam tense very slightly, and I took a deep breath before I replied "*Not to badly...He cut my arm,stabbed it in such a way it cracked my bone, and got glass in my eye...but I've had much worse." I added quickly.

"*...I'm still mad..."Adam said quietly.

"*I know...I can tell you are..."I said softly.

He was silent for a few minutes, before he relaxed, and nodded slightly. "*Well...at least your OK..."

I nodded, and smiled slightly. "*And...Jack is in jail. He's charged with assault, attempted murder, and resisting arrest...so he's most likely not going to bug anyone for a while..."

He smiled slightly. "Well,thats good...if he wasn't in jail,I think...I'd want to kill him..."

I raised an eyebrow slightly, surprised by how casually he said that, but said nothing more on the subject.


	21. A Doctor's Call

The next day, I went back to work as always, though I carried a few of the painkillers with me. Everyone seemed freaked out by how I looked, and Susan looked like she was going to have a panic attack. It took me only a few minutes to calm her down, but she was extremely nervous and barely spoke to me. While I will say that it made me sad, I didn't pay much attention to it. I just went through work as always, taking a painkiller when needed, while making sure not to OD, and pretty much just ignored everyone's stares. It didn't matter to me what they thought, and I was just glad Phil didn't make some kind of remark about it. Come to think of it...I haven't seen Phil in a few days. Something had to be up...unless he was planning something. I didn't think much of it, though, since my cell phone went off during my lunch break. Thinking it was just Ty or something, I didn't glance at the caller ID before answering.

"Hello?"

"Hello...is this Victoria Creek?"

"Speaking...who is this...?"

"Ah, this is Dr. Crawford...from the hospital...I hate to be the one to say this, but...Well, I don't even know how to say this..."

"What is it? With all regard, Doctor, I _am_ at work right now...I need this to be fast..."

"...there is a chance you will go blind in your right eye from the glass...if not all, then partially...but you will lose some vision..."He said quickly.

"...oh...well,thanks for telling me,Doctor..."I said, a bit shocked. I mean, I kind of guessed it...but to know it was defiantly going to happen...it kind of scared me. The doctor apologized again and again, and I hushed him, before I hung up. ~well...no sense in getting down about it...I mean, I should at least be thankful I'm alive...and Jack is in jail...~ I thought, sighing softly as I sat down at my desk again.

Once work was done, Tyler swung by to pick me up, with Jane tagging along. When I got in, Tyler took one look at me and must have known something had happened, because he point blank asked "Did something bad happen?"

Once I explained about the call from the hospital, he kind of sighed. "Well,thats lovely..."

"Well,at least the guy who did it is in jail...right?" Jane said,looking worriedly back at me.

"Yea,he is...and I'm going to make sure he stays there. He's not going to like it, but I have photos from the past three years of every bruise,burn,and cut he caused...it just seemed smart to take photos..."

"That was smart! You have proof!" Jane said, smiling and causing me to smile as well.

"Yea,I guess I do."

Carter was waiting for me at my apartment again, and Adam came over soon after I arrived home. We chatted like we used to, and Carter asked me how I was feeling. I had to admit, I wasn't sore...those painkillers were strong, or something, I guess. Adam smiled at this, and felt more comfortable giving me a quick, one-armed hug. While I usually hate those, I was just happy to get a hug of any kind from him. I wasn't about to say that, though, and Carter saved Adam from asking by asking if I had heard from the doctors about my eye yet. I wasn't really anxious to tell them about that, but since I hated hiding stuff from them, I told them about the phone call. Carter immediately moved to hug me, and Adam just sat next to me, tense as can be. After a few minutes, he relaxed,and sighed.

"*I really really want to kill him now..." he muttered.

"*Yea...I know..."I replied softly, though I smiled slightly. "*But it could always be worse..."

"*Yea...I guess you're right...he could have...killed you...or...raped you...or something like that..."

"*Yea..." I said, though mentally I was having a mini-panic attack. ~What am I going to do when Adam finds out Jack raped me in the past...? I don't want him to think I kept it from him because I don't trust him! I just...I hate admitting it...v.v I want to pretend it never happened...~

**Fast AN, Adam was a bit OOC near the end if this chapter...sorry for that ^^;**


	22. Finally admitting it

After a few weeks, everything was back to normal, or at the very least, close to it. My arm was almost fully healed, so Adam was a bit more comfortable about hugging me, but I was slowly losing my eyesight in my right eye. I never mentioned it around Adam, not because I didn't think he'd care, but because I knew it would just upset him. And, thankfully, I found I didn't lose my eyesight fully. The doctors said they had expected me to, and were a bit surprised when I didn't. I shrugged it off, and said that it didn't matter, since everything was fine now. They advised me to keep it covered when it was windy, or If I was going someplace really dusty, so whenever I went out, I carried an eye patch with me. I had a laugh once in a while, because when Ty first saw it, he jokingly said if I had a peg leg and a parrot, I would be a great pirate. I had to laugh at that, and agree, which he seemed to take relief in. I could tell on that alone that he was hesitant to joke around about it, until I flat out told him I was fine with it. It made it that much easier to get through this. He noted that, and joked sometimes, though he was much more hesitant when Adam or Carter were nearby. When I asked, he just said that while he knew I was fine with it, it felt more like an insult when Adam or Carter were nearby. I had been confused, but shrugged it off. But it did make me think...which is what I was doing now, since it was my lunch break and I had no personal work to do.

* * *

"Victoria...Victoria? Are you ok?" I heard someone say, as well as felt someone gently shaking my shoulder.

"Hmmm? Oh,I'm fine...sorry,Susan." I said,smiling slightly and tugging my bangs slightly. Since Susan was slightly unnerved by my eye, I kept my bangs over my eye.

"What were you thinking about? You were blushing!" Susan said,smiling slightly. When someone walked past the table, she quickly dropped her eyes and waited until they had left to look up again. This may seem odd, but she was very nervous around most people. I was one of the few she could sit alone with and talk to,about anything.

"..I was not blushing..."I muttered, pretending to be absorbed with staring at my water bottle.

"you were, and you are now!" she said,giggling softly. With a slight eye roll, I glanced back up at her, knowing she wasn't going to let me off with pretending I wasn't blushing.

"Fine...I'll admit, I was blushing."

"ooh,I know it. What were you thinking about? Or should I say, who~?" she added,smiling in a slightly sly way.

"You aren't going to let it off,are you?' I said in a teasing way,as she laughed softly.

"Nope. You have to tell me."

"Alright...I was thinking...about a guy I like." I said,once again shifting my gaze so I wasn't looking right at her.

"oooh,Is he someone I know?" she asked,to which I chuckled softly.

"No,I don't think you do. Only a few of my friends know him."

"Well,I insist on meeting him! I wanna see why you like him so much." Susan said,jolting me out of my still foggy mind.

"Ah,I don't think thats possible...he's kind of nervous around new people...and he's already said he prefers to not meet anyone I know from work." I said, quickly trying to think of an excuse. ~v.v guess I can't even think of Adam anymore...~

"awww...I really wanted to met him." she said,sighing softly.

"Sorry..."I said, a bit relieved that she had dropped it. We chatted about other things until lunch break was over, but when I was cleaning up, I noticed a slip of paper with a 'V' on it. Since people around the office called me V sometimes, I grabbed it, and slipped it up my sleeve on instinct when someone entered. Since I was looking at the table, I didn't see who it was until I stood, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying something when I saw Phil.

"What is it,Phil?" I said quietly, back to being 'weak'. While I may have changed around those I dislike, Phil didn't know that, and I wasn't planning on telling him just yet.

"Oh,Just a warning. You really shouldn't mix work and personal friends...you might,oh,i don't know...find them to go missing suddenly?" he said, grinning evilly. I clenched my fists tight, but held my ground. After a moment, he left, and I was free to growl softly.

~I feel like such a damsel in distress...but there is no way in hell I'm going to be one.~ I thought, as I walked back to my desk. For some reason, I felt like the note I had found should wait until I was off work, so I slipped it into my bag while I put my water bottle into it.

~Figures...Phil is MIA for a while, then comes right back with threats...should have known.~

* * *

After work, I waved by to Susan and she made the 'call me' signal, to which I nodded. ~wonder what she wants to talk about...~ I thought. That thought filled my mind until I was just out of sight of the MNU building, which is when I remembered the note.

Pulling it from my bag and unfolding it, I found a few lines of script, which I knew to be Susan's.

V

I need to talk to you. I'm at MNU for a reason similar to yours. Please don't ask me how I know what's going on, because I can't say. But please please please...call me tonight, sometime after 9...I need to talk to you about this...and I know it can't be said at work.

S

"What the heck? S, you couldn't have been more vague..." I muttered softly, quickly refolding the note and slipping it into my pocket, hurrying home now since I had not only plans to talk to Adam and Carter, but a phone call that was defiantly going to probe at my curiosity for a while.

* * *

"*Hey Adam." I said, upon entering my apartment. Adam was sitting on the couch like he usually was, since I had given him and Carter a spare key so they could get in while I was at work.

"*Hey..."He said,looking over and smiling.

"*No Carter today?" I asked, noticing I hadn't been tackle hugged yet as I dropped my bag by the door and moved to sit on the couch next to him."*no...I asked him to stay home so I could talk to you..."

"*Sounds serious..."I said, In a slightly mock worry tone. I was a bit worried, and I knew it...my stomach was in knots now. After a few moments, I moved to sit next to him on the couch, and he hesitantly put his arm around me so we were sitting much like we had at Carter's birthday party.

When I shifted slightly to look up at him, he seemed nervous, but I had no chance to ask why before he began to speak.

"*I...have something I want to say..." he said carefully, keeping an eye on my expression as If searching for something.

~and I have something to say to you,too...~ the words I half wanted to speak were on the very tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them, before saying

"*Alright...what is it?" I asked.

He hesitated, and now I guessed he was either worrying about how to say it, or worried about how I'd react.

"*I...really like you...as...more..."here he stopped, as if to nervous to continue.

I half knew what he was going to say, so without even thinking about what would happen if I was wrong, I quietly said

"*...as more then a friend...?"

He nodded, and I smiled slightly, though my blush was back full force. I knew he could see it since it was fairly bright in the room, but I managed to say

"*Good...because I feel the same..."

* * *

***fan girl squeals are heard***

**Me:uhh...how did you get in here? O.o**

**but anyways...YAY VICDAM!**

**Thanks to **Ember Filled Mist** for the nickname ^^**


	23. A sudden visit?

A lot seemed to change after that, though everything was the same...for the most part. After I had said I felt the same, Adam had smiled and hugged me, and we talked for a little bit about what we were going to do now. We decided, after much talking, that we would consider ourselves in a relationship. I was extremely happy, and worried at the same time. I think Adam knew, because he said we didn't have to tell anyone if I thought it would be safer, but I pointed out that Phil,or someone else, would know somehow, so we might as well tell people we trusted. He agreed, and soon left to make curfew, giving me a tight hug and a very quick kiss on the forehead. I will say I had to stand leaning against the door for a few minutes while I waited for my blush to fade, and it was a little while longer before I remembered Susan's note. Grabbing my cell and plopping down on the couch, I dialed her number quickly, and listened to it ring twice before she picked up.

"hi V...you got my note?" she asked quickly, sounding nervous.

"Yea,I got it...what do you mean by it?"

"Listen,this is going to sound bad, but...can we meet someplace? I don't think this is good for talking about on the phone..."she said, sounding more and more nervous, causing me to frown slightly.

"Sure...do you have someplace in mind?"

"Yea...do you know the coffee shop near the theater?"

"Yea,I know it."

"Meet me there...in about five minutes...ok? I'll be wearing something...not me-ish...I'll wave you down when you get there."

"Alright,I'll see you then." I replied, as she ended the call. Even more curious now, I slipped the phone into my hip pocket and headed out, tugging my hair into a ponytail and forgetting to cover my eye.

* * *

When I got to the coffee shop, it was pretty much empty. The only people there was the workers, a guy with white hair in the corner who had his face buried in a book, and a girl who was in black. The girl waved me over quickly, and I recognized her to be Susan.

"I see what you mean...I've never seen you wear all black before..."I said softly, as I slid into a seat across from her.

"Yea...but it helps me to seem less like me..."

"Yea,I guessed that...so what did you want to talk about?"

"I..kind of know about...LF and...your friends..."

I tensed out of habit, and she noticed,because she quickly said "I'm not going to threaten you! I promise! I'm...kind of in a similar stitch...well,not quite the same,but..."

"...and what would that be?" I asked quietly.

"I'm...also friends with...different people." she said, but mouthed 'non-humans'.

I raised an eyebrow at that, but she quickly started to talk again.

"Like you, that's being held against me..."

"By Phil? Or someone else?" I asked softly,leaning a bit closer to her.

"Phil..."she said softly, keeping her eyes down.

"Damn bastard..."I muttered,then sighed. She was remaining quiet, but looked up at me through her dark hair.

Out of habit, I tilted my head to one side, waiting until she spoke. And when she did, I almost fell backwards out of my chair fro jerking back.

"The guy you were thinking about...is one of them,isn't he?"

"I knew it..."Susan said softly upon seeing my reaction. "I'm guessing thats why..?"she said,trailing off and looking me in the eye.

I nodded mutely, then found my voice. "Yea...and actually...he told me he feels the same when I got home from work..."

"Ah,really? Congrats,then."she said,smiling. I smiled back, but then remembered that I still didn't know how she knew about everything. I was about to ask when she frowned slightly.

"I can tell what you're about to ask, but...I can't say...even if I think it's safe, it never is..."

At this, I nodded, since I knew the feeling. "Alright...but I do have something to ask, and I think it's safe to ask..."

She looked up at me with a curious look, and waited for me to speak.

"Is the fact that...we're in similar situations...the reason you became my friend?"I asked softly.

She quickly shook her head as soon as I finished speaking, and I went silent as she said "No...I mean, that was why I started talking to you at first...but...thats not why I'm your friend." she said softly, her gray eyes taking on a shade that I knew was for when she was upset.

"Sorry...It was just one of those things I had to ask..."i said softly.

After a few moments of silence, she stood, and I stood with her. "I'll see you at work..."she said, giving me a quick hug, which was slightly surprising, since I had never seen her hug anyone. I shrugged it off, and left soon after her.

* * *

Once I got home, I checked my email for the first time in..about a week? Maybe? I wasn't surprised to see an angry email from my stepmother about Jack, which I put in a folder with Phil's threats, for proof and such. I was surprised to see an email labeled 'visit' from my dad. Upon clicking on it, I found a short and simple email.

Tori,

hey honey! It's been a while since we talked...and I was wondering if I could come over and see what your apartment is like. I'm off for the next month since they're remodeling the office, so any time between now and next month is good for a met. Email me back, please, and let me know if this works!

Dad

PS: I'm sorry I've always been busy with work...hoping the visit will help us grow closer.

"O...K? This is out of the blue,dad..."I muttered quietly. With a shrug, I hit 'reply' and started typing.

Dad,

hey,it's good to hear from you. Sorry for not replying sooner, I've been a bit swamped with work and friends. As for a visit, as long as you don't mind it being short, and having to sleep on the couch, you can come over any day but Sunday. I'm usually home from work around 5 or 6 at night, but if I'm not home, I'll leave a key with Tyler from the second floor for you.

Tori

After hitting send, I leaned back on the couch for a moment, before I noticed it was kind of late. Without thinking about it, the meeting at the coffee shop had been almost two hours, and it was nearing midnight. "whoops...better get to bed..." I muttered, shutting down my lap top and going to bed after making sure the door was locked.


	24. I have a sister?

A few days later, when I arrived home, I saw my dad's car parked in the driveway. Raising an eyebrow slightly, I headed up, stopping to double check with Tyler that Adam and Carter weren't upstairs. After he confirmed it, I went up, and entered my apartment.

* * *

"Hey Honey." my dad said,standing and walking over to awkwardly hug me. After a moment,he took a step back, and looked me head to toe, as if he expected me to look different. I glanced over him, seeing that his black hair had a few gray spots, and his bright green eyes seemed to have lost a bit of light since I last saw him. Once he was done looking me over, we moved to sit on the couch facing each other, and I offered him a drink. He waved it off, saying he was most likely going to leave soon anyways. I was a bit curious as to that, and he must have noticed, because he said "I just wanted to make sure you were safe and happy...and to tell you something. I was going to tell you sooner, but...I got busy with work."

"You certainly know how to make someone curious...what is it?" I asked,smiling with a soft chuckle.

"...You aren't an only child...you have a younger sister...but...we put her up for adoption...it was to much to have two kids,and both of us busy at work..."

"...What...?..Very funny dad, haha..."I said,blinking rapidly. This had to be a joke...right?

"It isn't a joke...though I half wish it was..."he said softly,sighing.

"So...do you know who adopted her? Or her name,at least? Or anything?" I said softly, the shock of the moment slowly passing.

"I know she's about 15...as for who adopted her, I don't know...your mother handled it on her own..."

"Right...and I can't ask her now..."I said softly,sighing. "But...do you know her name?"

"Yes...I remember it...your mother insisted we name her after my grandmother...her name...is..."

Upon hearing the name, I went into a slight shock again, and blinked.

"That can't be..." I muttered softly, wracking my mind and trying to make sense of it.

~but...if thats her name...could it be...?~

"Whats wrong?to much?" dad asked,shacking me gently and snapping me back.

"No...but if that is her name...I think I know her..." I said softly.

Dad blinked, clearly not expecting me to say that, but after a moment, he nodded.

"If it turns out you do...you can tell her...but I have a feeling she wouldn't want to meet me...and as for your mom..."

"Yea...the most I can do is take her to the grave or something..."I said softly,and I sighed. "I'll tell her soon..."

"Alright..."

A few hours later, dad had left to go home and I was sitting on the couch, getting a bit used to the idea,and planning just how to tell her I wasn't a co-worker of her dad's...I was her sister.

* * *

The next morning, I got out of bed early, since I hadn't slept. I took a shower to relax, and quickly pulled my hair into a pony tail before I got dressed. I had to use cover up to hide the dark circles under my eyes from no sleep, but that was easy. It was hiding the worry about how she'd react that I couldn't hide easily. After a few moments, I just decided to not even try and went to have some breakfast.

* * *

Once at work, I went to talk to Susan, who mentioned that we were having some kind of meeting soon. She didn't know what about, but I had a memo on my desk saying that I was to attend. "Great...just what I need..."I muttered, flopping into my chair. Susan raised an eyebrow slightly, "What's up?"

"Oh, not much..My dad just told me last night I have a little sister who was put up for adoption at birth. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Oh my gosh...does he know where she is?" Susan asked, pulling a chair from a desk to sit facing me.

"He doesn't know where she is, or who adopted her...he just knows she's 15...and her name...is Molly."

I said softly. Susan was silent, and when I looked up at her, she wasn't looking at me..she was looking _behind _me. Turning slowly, I saw none other then Wikus and his daughter, Molly. And from the looks of it, they had heard every word I had said.

~Well,thats one way,I guess...~ I thought, biting my lip slightly and waiting to see how they'd react.

Molly looked kind of shocked, and freaked out at the same time, while Wikus,though shocked, looked a bit more relaxed. After asking if I was sure and me explaining I wasn't positive, but I was pretty sure, Susan softly said, stuttering slightly, that we kind of looked like sisters. Not only did Wikus agree, so did a few random workers who had gathered to see what the heck we were talking about agreed. At some point, Molly muttered something about kind of knowing she might not be an only child, but not expecting for someone her dad worked with to be her sis. After a moment, she looked over at me, somewhat curious, and asked just how old I was. When I replied I was 18, she kind of nodded. I think it might have been something about thinking I was older or something like that, but we couldn't really talk anymore about it since the meeting was being called to order. We agreed to meet in the break room and talk more once the meeting was over, and headed off.


	25. Taking a stand

Once we got to the meeting, we were told that we would be moving the poleepkwa from D-9 to a new District, about 200 kilometers from Jo-burg. I was kind of mad about that, and wondered why the hell I didn't know about this before, but I managed to not let it show. We were told it would be starting that day, and the person who would be heading it would be interviewed for a documentary, and then have the crew following them and their team. I raised an eyebrow at this, wondering who in the world would be making a documentary of this, but I didn't have much time to think about it before the man, Smit, I think, announced that Wikus was going to be the head. I kind of gave Susan a 'oh crud' look, and she nodded slightly, frowning. We couldn't talk about it at all, though, since once the met was over everyone had to go to prep and get ready to go. By sticking with a group, I was able to avoid Phil...for now. Once at the area where we were assigned teams, I found, with luck, I was on Wikus's team. While I wasn't all that big about being in a documentary, Phil wasn't in the group, which was good enough for me. They of course tried to get me to carry a gun, but I flat out refused. They might have insisted, but I was tense and obviously afraid. They dropped the subject, and just handed me a vest,saying I had to wear it at the very least. I gave in to that, since I thought it was smart, but I was hoping I didn't get stuck sitting next to someone with guns in the car on our way there.

* * *

On the way to District 9, I ended up talking to Wikus,. Since Molly pulled out her Ipod and started to listen to music. I steered clear of certain things, but I did find out from him about some of her friends, and her life. Not much, but a bit. I planned on talking with Molly later to find out more, hoping that the whole 'I'm-your-sister' thing wouldn't make it awkward. When we were almost there, I remembered the doctor's advice, and how dusty D9 seemed to be when I had gone to visit Adam in the past. Still talking, I pulled the eye patch out of my pocket and pulled it on, getting an odd look from Wikus.

"One of the doctors at the hospital said to wear an eye patch when it's dusty or windy out. He said it would prevent me from going fully blind instead of half blind." I explained quickly, with a sort of tone that said I didn't really care, but I'd rather not talk about it. He took the hint, and didn't say anything, just turned to Molly to help her with her vest.

* * *

A few minutes later, we had all gotten out of the car and headed out. It seems I was needed more then they thought, since most of the poleepkwa seemed to be confused, and I ended up explaining. Due to this,some of the evictions were easier. Not many,though...there were still a few who were hostile, and didn't want to sign. I didn't think much of it, since no one was hurt, when I heard gunshots. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, to see a soldier shooting at a poleepkwa who was trying to eat the spare tire.

I was kind of annoyed by the shooting, and I guess Molly was too,based on how she reacted.

"Woah! Wait!" Molly shouted, starting to move forward before Wikus stopped her.

"Stay there, Molly! It will attack you too!"  
"Dad! You can't attack them-or else!"

"Molly, it's safer to just stay here,ok?" I said softly, which wasn't a very good idea, since the poleepkwa got fed up and grabbed the arm of the soldier, before kicking,hard. Needless to say, the arm was no longer attached.

"I warned you!" Molly shouted, frowning.  
"Molly, we have been training and studying these things for years. It is a very delicate situation-won't you just let us handle this?" Wikus replied, sounding slightly tired. Then again,that could have just been me.

Molly sighed, obviously annoyed, but looked up at me when I quietly pointed out he was just worried about her safety. She agreed that it was true, but she was still annoyed. I shrugged slightly, and said that it's fine to be annoyed. Everyone gets annoyed at someone,even if they mean it well.

After a few moments, we started to walk again,since Wikus and his team were on the move.

* * *

If I hadn't of gotten sort of used to how D9 looked, I would have been horrified at how horrible it looked. As it was, I had been when I first came over, but I had gotten over it quickly.

After we had walked for a few moments, we came to an odd looking shack. When no one answered, Thomas kicked the door down.

"Holy shit..."I heard Wikus mutter, and I peeked over his shoulder to see what was wrong. The shack was _filled_ with eggs, and Wikus called for a team to kill them. I was a bit mad at this, but I couldn't exactly say anything, since we were still being filmed. I moved away a few steps, as Wikus explained to Trent how to abort an egg. Once that was done, he handed a container looking thing to Thomas, joking about how he could pretend he had done one as they walked away. I followed quietly, though I was steaming inside, and turned back to see Molly hadn't moved yet, but had looked inside. She looked a bit sick, and after a few minutes, a truck arrived.

"Molly, move out of the way,please" I called,just as Wikus called "Molly! Move out of the way!"

Molly looked and saw the hose, before she hurried over. Once she was out of the way, the team used the hose, which spit fire out of it, to burn the shack. There was a soft popping sound, and I half knew what it was, and it was confirmed when Wikus turned to the camera and explained it was the poleepkwa baby popping out of the egg.

Molly muttered about it being gross, and the team started to move on. I say the team,and not we, because Phil came over and yanked me away. "I just need to talk to her for a few minutes, OK, Wikus?" he called, to which Wikus replied "Ok,have her find us when your done."

~Great...what does he want?~ I though, as he pulled me to an area where it looked like no one was around, and turned to glare at me.

"Remember what I said about not mixing work and personal life? You fucking disobeyed. So...your little 'friends' are going to,oh,I don't know...misbehave? And of course, since I'm heading that team, I can have them killed with the snap of my fingers." he added,smirking broadly.

That was pretty much the last straw. Glaring at him with my one good eye, I took a few steps towards him, and he slowly stepped back,his smirk fading slightly.

"You know what,Phil? I'm sick and tired of your shit. You are a spineless, pathetic, bastard...you have to threaten others just to feel good about yourself. And you know what? I could report you at any time to the cops. Those emails and that message you left on my phone,threatening me? I saved them. They are pure proof. So either fuck off with the threats, or I'm going to the cops, and getting you put in jail, along with all the other scum on the earth."

Phil blinked,but then smirked again,taking a step forward. By now, there was only about a foot between us, and I made no move to shrink it, or grow it. I held my ground, keeping my eye firmly locked on him.

"You do that...and you'll be the one pulling the trigger. You'll be the one killing them."he said,his voice icy and hard.

I will say that shocked me, made me want to step back and get away, but I didn't. Not yet.

"The only time I would ever pull a trigger, is if it meant the bullet would be on your head. Because the day you die, will be the best day of my life." With that, I turned and headed back to my team, already planning to lie and say he just wanted to ask me something, and not that he had wanted to threaten me again. Little did I know, but in a few moments, there would be no excuse needed.


	26. I hate his blood on me

It didn't seem like much. I could hear Phil shouting behind me, and I had just turned to say something back, in the hopes of keeping him from yelling, when something happened. I didn't see what, but I do know that one minute he was standing there, and the next...he was a pile of what looked like hamburger meat,and blood. And as if that wasn't enough, I was now _covered _in blood.

"o...k?"I said softly, almost a squeak, but I shook it off and glanced around.. I didn't see anyone, but from the looks of it, someone had shot Phil with an arc gun. Whether they meant to, or not, or if they meant to hit someone else, it still had happened. And as happy as I was, I couldn't show it yet. So, I slowly went to where the team was, at the home of a Christopher Johnson, using a slightly out of it expression, and planning on telling the truth. I didn't see what happened, and Phil was dead.

When I got there, everyone seemed to be a bit panicked already, because Molly had apparently jumped in front of Chris so he wouldn't get shot, and ended up getting shot in the shoulder. I calmed Wikus down somehow, and took a look at the wound, since I could tell if it was serious or not. Thankfully, it wasn't, and Wikus was already leading her back to the van to head to the hospital, when he noticed how I looked.

"what the fook happened to you?" he asked, looking panicked again.

"Well..Phil's dead...and...whatever happened,resulted in this..." I replied,gesturing with my hand at my bloody self.

"Well...are you ok?"

"Yea,I'm fine...bit shocked at what happened, but otherwise fine."

"..Why don't you go home and get cleaned up? You can do your part of the reports tomorrow." He suggested, as we reached the van.

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow then. Oh, give me a call and let me know how Molly is when she gets out of the hospital,ok?" I added with a smile, waving slightly and running off towards home before he could reply.

Once I got home, Tyler came out of his apartment just as I was passing by.

"Hey Vic-whoa,what happened?" He said, cutting off mid sentence and hurrying over.

"Long story short, Phil's dead...I didn't kill him,but he is dead."

"oh...wow. Heading up to clean off,I'm guessing?"

"Yep...i really can't stand his blood on me." I said,with a soft laugh.

"Well then, don't let me keep you~" he said,jokingly bowing out of the way like he did once in a while.

"I'll talk to you later" I said through my laughs, and I headed up the stairs, waving as he waved back.

* * *

A few hours later, when I was clean and in my Pj's, since I figured I could use some relaxation, my phone went off. Glancing at it, I saw it was Wikus, and I answered quickly.

"Hey"

"Hi...just wanted to let you know Molly is fine...the shot wasn't serious."

"Well thats good."I said,smiling.

"Oh,also..Tania said she wants you to come over tomorrow...? I'm not sure why, she wouldn't tell me."

"Alright, thanks for letting me know. I'll see you at work."

"See you at work."

After I hung up, I heard a knock on the door and I unfolded myself from where I had curled up on the couch to answer the door. I already knew it would most likely be Adam and Carter, and I proved to be correct. Once they were in and we were sitting together, we talked about everything we normally did, and everything was normal, until Carter mentioned how Oliver, who turned out to be a friend of his, had said I seemed protective of Molly, and he was curious as to why that was. I guess I looked a bit nervous, because they looked even more curious.

"Well,as I found out from my dad when he came to visit...Molly...is my sister." I said,after a few moments. I was carefully watching their expressions, but they mostly looked shocked. Finally, Adam spoke up.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Both Wikus and Molly confirmed that she was adopted, and she fits what dad said...so if I'm wrong, then it'd be surprising."

"I see...and..the evictions? Did you know about them?"

"No,not until today...but I do know...there isn't much that I can do to stop them...even with Susan working with me..."

Adam sighed softly. "I guess...We kind of knew something would happen..."he said softly, obviously upset and,underneath that and almost unnoticeable, angry. I wasn't sure how to react to his anger, since I was still hesitant, but I moved a bit closer to him, and gently wrapped an arm around him.

"Don't worry...we'll figure something out...I promise..."


	27. A disasterous night

The next day, I went to work as always, my promise to Adam still ringing in my mind. As much as I longed to keep it, I had no idea how to. But I wasn't about to give up...I hadn't given up in a while.

Once I got to my desk though, I realized I could actually quit. At anytime I wished...it kind of felt good, like I had control over my own life. My plan was, that once the reports were done, I would talk to Susan and see what she thought. Of course, that might have been easier if Wikus hadn't of seemed panicked again, but I couldn't exactly ask him why he was so panicked. I already had a feeling he wouldn't want to tell me.

"I'm not sure,either..." Susan admitted when we talked on lunch break. "I mean, I want to quit, but...it's the whole 'we can keep at least a few safe by staying' thing..."

"Yea,I know what you mean...but the evictions are going to make it hard..."I said,lowering my voice slightly.

"Oh no...isn't Adam..?" she asked, her eyes widening slightly.

"Yea...he is..."

"Oh my god...I'm sorry..."

"It isn't your fault...if anyones, I think it would be Smit's..."

"Yea...I guess so...but...do you think we should stay for now? We could always leave later..."

"That is true...it sounds like a plan..."

"Alright...it's agreed then. We'll give it a few months, and then decide..."

After work, I went to Wikus's house like he had said to, and found they were having a surprise party for him, in honor of his promotion. As much as I felt out of place, I still stayed, and ended up talking to Molly a bit, mostly about what kind of music she liked, and how school was going. It felt kind of odd, I guess since asking about school seemed to be something an adult would do, and not a sister. But there wasn't much else I could ask, since I didn't know her all that well. Thankfully, just as I was running out of things to ask, or be asked, Wikus came home, and pounded on the door, causing everyone to shut up. Molly quickly shut the lights off and went to answer the door.

"Welcome home, dad!"  
"Molly, darling, I need to get to the restroom-wait why are the lights off?"  
After this had been said, Molly flipped the lights on and everyone jumped out, though I stayed still.  
"Congratulations!"

I noted after a moment, that Wikus looked kind of upset by the party, and I was curious, though I kept silent.

"H-hello everyone! Nice to see you!"

Even from across the room, I knew he was lying, but I wasn't about to call him out on it. That would be one of the worst things to do right now.

After a few minutes, Wikus went to talk to Smit in the kitchen, before hurrying off, I'm assuming to the bathroom. Molly followed him, so I couldn't ask her if she thought he was ok.

After a little bit, which had been filled with very light chatter with some of the other coworkers and one or two comments about my eyes, Wikus came back with a party hat on, followed by Tania and Molly.

Everyone was following them to a table, and I ended up near the front of the group,though I made sure I was on the edge, kind of away from everyone. It wasn't personal, I just didn't really like being extremely close to them.

"Ta-dah!" Tania said as she took the cover off a cake that looked like the MNU building and lit the candles.

Once Wikus had blown out the candles, he started coughing softly, which stirred up the usual 'are you ok's from everyone.

"L-Let's cut…some…cake…" he struggled to say.  
"Just calm down,dear." a woman near him said.

I guess this came a bit to late, because Wikus froze. Shifting slightly, I could see he had something black dripping from his nose, and he began to cough. Before anyone could blink, he vomited the same black substance all over the table and collapsed, breaking the table and knocking everything over.

I'm assuming somebody called an ambulance, because medics came in and swiftly took him away.

* * *

Everyone else had gone home, I guess since they felt they couldn't do much. The only reason I stayed was to make sure Molly would be OK, and to make sure if she did try and go to the hospital, someone would be there to get her their safely, and more quickly, then if she walked.

Sure enough, after only about twenty minutes, I heard her yell "I've had enough!" and get out of bed. From the sounds of it, she tripped over something at least once, if not twice, and I slowly went upstairs in the general direction of her room, in time to meet her in the hall.

"Oh...mom made you stay to keep me home,huh?" she muttered.

"No..I stayed to make sure you wouldn't get hurt, and so if you did chose to go to the hospital, I could drive you."

I think this shocked her a bit, but she nodded, and followed me downstairs and out the door to my car.

* * *

Once she got there, I only went inside so that if Tania had left, she could find me again easily.

That wasn't needed, though, since we found Tania sobbing in an area alone.

"Mother?"Molly called gently, causing Tania's head to snap up.

"Oh, Molly! I-I have no idea what's going on! They won't tell me anything! Something has happened with your father! Oh, Wikus…" she said, shaking slightly.  
"Come on, mom… Don't cry, dad will be fine!" Molly said, moving closer and gently wrapping her arms around her.

I felt like I was intruding on the moment, so I quickly excused myself, and said I would come by tomorrow to check up on how everyone was.

Of course, with everything that had happened, I hadn't gotten a chance to see Adam that day, but I did find a note from him saying he missed seeing me and hoped to see me soon, something that made me smile, no matter how simple it was. Tucking the note into a small wooden box I kept things that were valuable to me, I sat down on my bed, worrying a bit about Molly and Tania. It seemed like something bad had happened, but I still didn't know what it was. Of course, I'd have my answer the next day, though it would only be half right.


	28. Planning and Whispering

When I got to work, everyone seemed panicked or excited. Pulling someone aside, I asked what was going on and got the simplest of answers.

"Something about a hybrid, but that's all I know."

Nodding slightly, I hurried to my desk, my face emotionless while my mind was whirling, wondering if this was connected to what had happened the night before. "Most likely is..." I muttered, which thankfully no one heard. I couldn't think about it long, of course, since I had to work. But it was still on my mind, and I left early, so I would arrive at Molly's shortly after she arrived home, based on what she had told me the night before.

* * *

On my way, since I had chosen to walk verses driving, I heard the report loud and clear from someone's radio. "_We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news. A patient has escaped from the isolation ward and is loose in the city. Wikus Van De Merwe was recently apprehended after prolonged sexual activity with aliens in District 9. _"

"What...the...hell?" I muttered, almost shouting it but managing to keep my tone down. I knew that wasn't true, though it wasn't from experience.

After a moment, I started to walk again, much faster now, reaching the house just as Molly did.

She just waved slightly to me, before she hurried inside to talk to her mom, with me following but hanging back a bit.

"Mom!T-The news! P-Papa!" Molly screamed as she ran inside, tears streaming down her cheeks, my guess was from disbelief.

"I-I know! H-He called earlier, b-but I just couldn't p-pick up!" Tania said, sobbing softly.

Molly moved to comfort her mom, and then said that perhaps she should call him back. She agreed, and shakily dialed the number.

"Baby, is that you? Tania?"

Even just hearing his voice caused her to burst into tears again, and Molly gently rubbed her arms, urging her to speak. But even before she began to talk, I half knew she believed the media, like almost everyone else. For the most part, though, I stayed out of it, but I tuned in as soon as Tania started to shout.

"No!I don't want you anywhere near my daughter! You will never even speak to her again!"

~that's just...harsh...~I thought, frowning. I guess Molly agreed, because she shouted out and tried to grab the phone. "Mom, no! Let me talk to him!"

But before she could do anything, Tania had hung up the phone. After giving Tania a heartbroken look, she trudged upstairs. After getting directions from Tania to where her room was, I slowly walked upstairs and knocked on her door.

"Molly? Can I come in?"

After a moment, Molly opened the door, and moved aside so I could enter. After I had sat on the floor, I thought for a moment before speaking.

"You don't believe the media either, do you?"

I think Molly was a bit shocked by this, but she nodded. "You mean you don't, even though you work there?"

I nodded. "Yea...I don't believe a lot they say, but then again, I never wanted to work there...I'm only still there because I want to make sure I have a job before I quit." I said, half lying.

When Molly said nothing, I glanced over my shoulder to make sure her mom wasn't nearby, and then softly said "You're planning on going to find him,aren't you?"

"...how did you know that...?"Molly asked softly, looking sort of panicked.

"I could tell...by your body language, and your eyes...but don't worry...I'm not going to stop you..." I said softly,brushing my bangs back a bit.

"You...aren't?"

"No..but..I am going to make sure I'm in D9 tomorrow, since I'm guessing thats when you plan on going, to meet up with you and make sure your safe. Is that OK?"I added, a bit worried that she wouldn't like that.

"...I guess thats OK..."she said softly, and then looked up with a soft sigh. "I better go check on mom..."

"Alright, I'm probably going to leave soon...I'll see you tomorrow" I added,standing and and slowly walking downstairs, where I said goodbye to Tania before slipping outside.

~Well...Looks like I'm not going to work tomorrow~ I said, smiling slightly as I headed home, quickly planning on telling Adam and calling in to work as soon as I could.

* * *

"Your sister is what?" Carter asked, tilting his head to one side.

"*She's going to District 9 tomorrow to see if she can find Wikus." I replied. "*I told her I'd go with her to make sure she wouldn't get hurt."

"...but what if you get hurt?" Adam asked softly,looking worried.

I sighed softly, but replied "*If I do, I do...I can deal with getting hurt...but I'm going to get mad if she gets hurt..."

"...alright...but try not to get hurt...ok?"

"Ok...I promise."

* * *

The next day, I woke up a bit earlier then normal, and got ready. I quickly tugged on a pair of old jeans I didn't really care about, so they could get ripped or dirty without a problem. Over that, I pulled a short sleeved black T-shirt that had no symbol or image on it. After this was done, I pulled my hair into a ponytail, added the eye patch, and pulled on socks and sneakers. "Better leave this here..." I muttered, dropping my phone onto the couch before I headed out the door, grabbing my ID just to be safe, since they'd most likely be keeping an eye out for people who didn't belong.


	29. Why yes,I am dating him

Of course, there was a few more guards at the gate, but they waved me through once I showed my ID and one of the guards who recognized me said I was legit. Once they waved me through and were out of sight,. I shoved the ID deep into my pocket and took off to meet up with Adam and Carter, who had said they'd help me look for Molly. Knowing how large D-9 was,though, that would take a while. But I still wasn't about to give up, and kept running around to look for her.

"*This isn't as easy as I thought..."I muttered softly, since we had gone back to Adam's shack as night approached.

"Sure you don't want to go back home?"

"*I'm sure. Besides, I doubt they'd let me in two days in a row, since security isn't like it was before this happened." I replied.

Adam nodded slightly, but didn't smile until I moved to sit next to him. "*Besides, It's nice to spend time with you guys." I added with a smile.

"I agree!" Carter said, smiling and moving to sit on my other side.

That was pretty much how the night went, me once again snuggling close to Adam and Carter on my other side, resting his head on my leg. ~I bet this would make a cute picture...but I also think it would be embarrassing to have someone see this...it just seems...private.~

* * *

When we woke up in the morning, we talked a bit but started out to look for Molly fairly quickly.

"Maybe Oliver has seen her! We could go ask!" Carter volunteered, and I smiled.

"Sounds Like a plan...lead the way~"

Carter nodded, and headed off, leading us in the direction of the shack, just in time to catch Molly and Oliver leaving.

"There you are,Molly!" I called,waving and smiling slightly. She caught sight of me and waved back, coming over with Oliver.

"Hey...who are you're...friends?"

"Oh, this is Carter, and this is Adam. Carter is Adam's brother,and Adam is...my boyfriend..."

* * *

"Your...boyfriend?Well...congrats?"Molly said after a moment, looking a bit shocked. "oh,I'm Molly,by the way." she added.

"We know. Victoria's told us about you" Carter said with a smile.

"You have?"she asked,looking at me.

"Just a bit."I replied. "They were a bit curious about my sister..."

It looked like she was about to reply, but before she could we heard Wikus call her over. Shrugging slightly, she took Oliver's hand and headed over, with me,Carter,and Adam behind her.

"Christopher is going to look after you for a little while. Be good. I'll be back later." He said, not noticing that we were standing there as he walked past.

"Huh...wonder where he's going..."I muttered. Molly, of course, started to follow him, but I gently stopped her. "He obviously doesn't want you to follow him...OK?"

She sighed,but nodded. "Alright...but if he gets hurt..."She trailed off,and looked over at Oliver as he said something I couldn't quite hear, due to how far I was from him, and the sounds from outside.

After a moment, he turned on a device that showed a hologram of the earth. Looking back at us, he smiled slightly.

"I fixed it myself. My planet has seven moons, you know. It's bigger than earth."

Molly smiled, and moved to sit next to him. Carter went to sit on her other side, while Adam and I stayed near the door.  
"You fixed that yourself, you said? You must be smart. I bet your planet is very beautiful, Oliver. We humans are no doubt going to kill ourselves in the future."

"Then come to my home. Molly will be safe there?" he said, looking over at her with an innocent look.

~awww,thats adorable~I thought,smiling slightly. Adam gave a muted chuckle besides me, and Molly gave a stunned laugh before smiling softly. "Nah, none of that stuff's been proven. Thanks for the offer though, kiddo." She said, patting him on the head gently.

* * *

About three seconds later, a loud noise could be heard outside and the ground seemed to shake. Oliver clutched onto Molly, and I saw her pull him close, before Carter quickly attached himself to my legs.

"Chris!" a voice outside shouted. "We gotta go!"  
Molly turned to Oliver.  
"I have to go with them, you stay hidden and safe. Promise me!"  
"I promise, Miss Molly."  
"You have to stay safe too! Stay here!"Christopher Protested.  
"No, Christopher, I'm coming with you!"  
"Alright, fine, we don't have time to argue."

"I'll stay here and make sure Oliver stays safe." I quickly said, guessing they would have enough trouble with the three of them, they didn't need another person tagging along.

Molly nodded, and I quickly hugged her before she left. "Stay safe,OK?" She nodded,slightly shocked, but it was just what seemed right to do. I'm not even sure why. But before I could think much into it, they were gone.

"She better stay safe..."I said softly, before I turned to Oliver.

"What should we do so we're ready when they get back here?"

* * *

**The worse the upcoming events, the fluffier the fluff...be warned.**


	30. Please,Please! Please hide

Sometime later, after Oliver had explained a bit about the ship and we had gotten it as ready as we could, when we heard a commotion outside. Zipping to the window, I saw an MNU truck heading for the shack, with Wikus in the driver's seat.

"Well,thats one way..." I muttered, noticing the helicopters and turning back to the three.

Without a word, Oliver quickly moved to open the trap door, just as Molly ran inside.

"Oliver get inside!" she shouted,handing a device to Chris as she did so. "We'll follow you!"

Chris quickly inspected the divine, as Wikus paced slightly.

"So how long is this going to take?"  
"To do what?"  
"T-To fix me!"  
"Oh." Christopher paused. "it's going to take a nit longer than I thought."  
"That's fine, how long?"  
"Three years," he clicked hesitantly.

"That can't be good..."I muttered, just as Molly exclaimed " what?" realizing she had been a bit to loud, she clapped her hands over her moth, before she continued in a softer tone."T-Three years? B-But you promised!"  
Christopher put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen to me, I WILL fix Wikus, but I have to save my people first! Please understand!"

"Even if it does take a long time, it is better then not fixing him at all..."I said softly, though it seemed as though no one heard.

"What am I going to do, Christopher! Stay in this fucking shack and wait!"  
"My people are being treated as medical experiments! I have to get help as fast as possible!"  
"I'm a fucking medical experiment!"  
"Wikus,calm down!" I said, a bit to softly since it once again went unheard.

"This is not going to end well..."

"Fine," Wikus said almost sarcastically. He reached for something.  
"Dad!"

"Wikus,don't!"  
"Oh, and Christopher?"  
Chris turned to face him. Molly closed an eye as Wikus knocked him out with a piece of wood.

I sighed, but said nothing.  
"Get in."  
"What?"  
"Molly,listen to him...I'll stay here and make sure no one kills him...OK?" I said softly, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. She was about to say something, but from the sounds outside, the helicopters were landing. Without a word, I gently pushed her in the direction of the trap door. "Don't worry...OK?"

She nodded slightly, and moved to go down the ladder. "Ok...sis."

* * *

Once they had dropped down and closed the door, I quickly turned to Adam and Carter.

"*You guys aren't going to like this,but...I want you to go back to your shack,and just stay there until this blows over...OK? I don't want you getting hurt."

Carter nodded,and quickly hugged my legs before he headed to the back area of the shack, where they could exit easier. Adam didn't follow right away, so I gently nudged him in the right direction. "*Don't worry...I'll be fine. Keep Carter safe,OK?"

With a frown, he nodded, managing to give me a quick hug before dashing outside to follow Carter.

"Well...I better get my ID on..."I muttered,pulling it out of my pocket and slipping it over my head as the team burst into the shack.

* * *

Of course, there were quite a few odd looks when they saw me, but most shrugged it off when they saw my ID. I say most,because Koobus was being his usual,annoying,self.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"It's called work,Koobus. In case you've forgotten, I do work for MNU."

"Then why did you call in sick?"

"Uh,news flash! That was yesterday! I didn't call in sick today!"

"Then why didn't you report to work like everyone else?"

"In case you haven't noticed,I live nearby. I walked over to save gas."

Koobus had to give up at this point, since it was known I walked when I could,though they didn't know a reason. So using saving gas as an excuse worked.

After that, it was strictly work related. I was doing my best to keep Koobus from beating Chris, but when I tried,I got some odd looks. Not only that, but Koobus kept waving his gun around,which didn't help at all.

Thankfully, when the ship took off it shook everyone up and everyone retreated outside.

"I swear,if Molly gets hurt..."I muttered softly,knowing no one would hear me over the noise. Thankfully, I was right, but that also meant that they didn't know she was there...and they shot a missile at the ship..and it hit,sending the ship to the ground.

"Shit..."I exclaimed under my breath, glancing at the rest of the team and exhaling slightly when most of them hurried towards the crash. But now I was torn,between my sister and my promise to make sure Chris didn't get killed.

Realizing I wouldn't be able to so much as talk to Molly with other MNU agents around, I sighed quietly and stayed near Chris, hoping that I wouldn't regret it,and knowing deep down I would.

* * *

As I had guessed, I did regret it. While they were driving Wikus and Molly, and so I thought,Oliver, the Nigerians ambushed the truck. From the looks when we arrived, both Wikus...and Molly...were missing.

"Fuck...I knew she'd get hurt..."I said softly,at this point...not caring if anyone heard me.


	31. The End

**AN: I'm so sorry this took so long...it took so long to write, and then when I finally did, I worked for about three hours...it was over twelve pages long and then...I lost it all. My computer crashed just after I saved and when I reopened the document, it was blank...so...I had to rewrite it...it isn't exactly the same, but it's kind of close...some stuff has been changed...ideas discarded...that kind of thing.**

**Anyways...as you can guess, this is the end. Lots of drama, some shocking twists, and such...wrapping it up while leaving it open. (sequel is being planned...title ideas are needed and loved.)**

**Even after the sequel, I'll most likely do little one shots or something ^^**

**Also...Don't hate me for what happens to Molly. It was her creator's fault.**

**And As for V, it was planned ages ago.**

**I will say, they do not die. But that's all I'll say. You'll have to read on if you want to know what happens ^^**

**Reviews are loved, Flames help destroy MNU.**

* * *

Much as I longed to run, to make sure Molly wasn't hurt, I couldn't move an inch. Not yet. Not with MNU agents moving about, loading us all into vans. Not when I had to swallow my nervousness, my panic, and mask it with calmness, the little bit that escaped being written off as my fear of guns.

Once we reached the mob's location, we all unloaded and I slipped away the best I could, able to get just close enough to hear but not enough to see.

As soon as I did though, I heard Molly scream, and my hearty dropped to my stomach. I was going to move closer, but my path was blocked by the gun of a soldier, who just looked at me in a way that said 'don't even think of getting closer.'

moments later, a series of gunshots were heard, and I prayed that none would hit Molly, that she was OK...but before I could think much more on it, another soldier came up and threw something through the window, before repeating the action with another item, though this time I saw it.

It was tear gas.

While this was happening,though, I spotted Chris, being beaten by Koobus and another man, apparently trying to get answers from him and beating him when none came.

I couldn't watch.

As a result, I was one of the first to see Wikus when he came out in some kind of robot, with Molly trailing behind.

I felt kind of panicked when I saw her, since she looked kind of bloody and cut up. But I couldn't see if she was OK or not, since Wikus shouted something about letting them leave, in exchange for Chris.

~What the hell, Wikus? That isn't like you...~ I thought, watching as he pushed Molly slightly so she'd follow.

As if that wasn't bad enough, I heard Koobus say to just kill Chris, since he wasn't talking.

And that was when I knew I couldn't do this anymore. I was going to fight  
back. No matter what happened.

* * *

"Don't you dare shoot him."

The soldier looked up at me, shocked slightly. With a glance at Koobus, he shrugged slightly, and shifted the gun to point at me, instead of Chris.

And even though I thought I was going to die, I was actually OK with it...I mean, I stood up for what I believed in the end, right? That's enough for me.

In the end, it didn't really matter. Wikus came back, though I'm still not sure if it was because Molly said she wasn't going to leave Chris, or if he came of his own free will. At that point, I didn't care, because he shot the soldier's arm off, preventing anyone from being shot. Instinctively, my eyes darted to Molly, and I was slightly relieved to see that she wasn't hurt as badly as I thought, just cut up... Still, I hated seeing her hurt, but I kept an eye on her until I heard Chris and Wikus speaking, Wikus having pulled Chris up. It sounded like they were arguing about heading to the ship where I'm guessing Oliver was still waiting. This was confirmed by Molly stepping forward and grasping Chris's hand, looking deep into his eyes in a way that would remind him of his son. Thankfully, Chris understood and quickly grabbed a door from the ground, using it to block bullets from hitting us. Molly,Chris and I all ran behind Wikus, just to the side, though the worry off getting shot at was always there. This proved to be a logical worry, since after only a little while Wikus was shot from behind.  
"Dad!"  
"Are you alright?"

Wikus panted softly, but replied "Keep going! I think we can make it!"

However, it was only a few moments later when he stopped, the robot opening enough to reveal his bruised face.

"Molly, sweetheart, I need you… to… do me a favor."  
"Dad! This isn't the time!"  
"Listen to me! I'm going to stay here and fight them off. I want you to make sure he gets to the ship."  
"I'm not leaving you alone!" Christopher protested.  
Wikus glared. "Molly, you listen to your father! Christopher, don't you dare make me go through this and not make it! Get to the ship!Victoria...keep Molly safe for me, OK?"  
Christopher's antennae dropped. "Three years. I promise."

The moment after Chris spoke, I promised, barely rising above a whisper. "I'll keep her safe...no matter what."

"Hurry!" The machine closed around his face again. He turned and started fighting anyone trying to get to us.

With a silent look between the three of us, it was Molly who spoke.

"Let's go."

* * *

As we were nearing the ship, we could see Oliver in the distance, running towards us.

"Oliver!" Molly shouted to him.  
"Molly! Look out!"

In the next split second, Molly was shot, the bullets hitting her in several different places. My instinct said to rush over and catch her in the moment that hung in the air, bur before I could take a single step, I felt an all to familiar pain in my leg, just below my knee. I collapsed slightly, feeling horrid as I watched Molly fall, and wishing it had been me who was shot in her place.

"Molly! No!" Oliver shouted as he rushed to her side.  
Molly forced herself up, supporting herself with her elbow.  
"G-Get to the ship… I told dad I would get you to the ship."she said softly, keeping her the eye that wasn't hidden by her hair level with his.

Even from my spot a few feet away, I could tell Oliver wanted to cry. "You should have gone home! You should have known this was dangerous when your father warned you! You shouldn't have stayed!"

'I agree, Oliver! I agree!' the words were on my tongue, but they refused to be spoken, as Molly shakily raised a hand and laid it gently on his cheek.

"I'd defend you with my life. I love you so." she spoke, smiling sadly.

As the wind started to blow, I slowly stood, moving a bit closer to help her if she needed it, but stopped in my tracks when I saw the odd color of her eye, something I recognized.

Molly was blind in that eye. She was even more vulnerable then I had thought.

Without a word, Molly looked over her shoulder to where Wikus was still struggling to fight the soldiers off.

"Hurry! Go!"

Chris ran over then and picked up Oliver, running in the direction of the ship. Oliver kept his eyes on Molly, reaching out towards her.

"We'll come back! Please don't die, Molly!"

~I won't let her die...even if doing so causes my death...~I thought silently, as I stepped forward and gently helped Molly to her feet.

* * *

She ran forward, grabbing a gun from the ground as I followed her, knowing I couldn't be much help but still grabbing a pipe from the ground. If anyone came closer then they should, I could at least use that to fight back.

"Molly! Get out of here!"  
"I refuse!"

I was silent, but stayed close to both her and Wikus, keeping the pipe tight in my hands. I wasn't going to let them get hurt.

"Aim for the girl!" Koobus shouted. "He'll surrender if she's harmed!"

"Don't you dare hurt her,Koobus!"

"Leave her the fuck alone!"

Between the two of them firing at the soldiers, none were coming close. Even so, I kept my grip on the pipe, keeping a steady eye on Koobus to make sure he didn't try anything.

Of course, this was easier said then done. Because the moment my eyes met with his, I saw he was planning on shooting at Molly, and I moved in front of her before either could blink.

"Don't Even think about it,Koobus." I growled softly, which caused him to smirk, and shoot, the bullet hitting my arm just enough so I'd drop the pipe.

Glancing at Wikus, since he had moved slightly in the direction of Molly, I'm guessing to block her, I could see that the suit was falling apart. Just as I was wondering how much more it could handle, Koobus said something into a walkie talkie and a truck came barreling into Wikus, narrowly missing Molly. Even so, she screamed, and ran to his side when he fell. I moved towards them backwards, moving carefully, and was soon next to Molly.

"Come on… Come on…!"he was mumbling, and a glance was all it took to confirm that he was watching Chris's ship. A moment later, he snapped out of it, and started to fight again.

It was a good thing most of the soldiers had been killed or had run, because the machine couldn't take much more. The final straw was when Koobus shot a missile at the ship, and Wikus caught it, causing it to explode in his hand, as the machine fell apart.

Wikus tumbled to the ground, roughly, and I looked over at him to see if he was hurt badly.

While I was doing this, Koobus had been stepping closer, and Molly had grabbed the pipe I had dropped, running towards him and yelling at him to stay away.

The only thing that happened was he laughed and shot her in the arm, issuing a hiss from me.

"Molly! No! Don't hurt her anymore! She's just a child! It's me you want! Molly run while you still can!"

"Koobus,stop it! Stop hurting her!"

Molly seemed to hear neither of us, because she charged again, this time earning a shot in the leg that sent her sprawling to the ground, landing hard on her back.

"Dammit." I heard her mutter, before she opened her eyes to look up, seeing that the ship had almost made it. She started to smile, but it faded when Koobus appeared in her view. I looked frantically at him, hoping to be able to guess when he would shoot and make it just in time to take the shot instead of Molly, but the thought faded the moment I saw his gun on the ground, a mere foot from where I stood. But that meant...

I didn't even have time to finish the thought before Koobus was on Molly, his hands around her throat, tightening every moment.

"You know, I was gonna let you live, kid! But you fucked that up, didn't ya?"

"Koobus,stop it! Please!"  
"Leave her alone!"  
"One you're dead, I'll kill your old man too! You and that half-breed piece of shit won't be causing me any more trouble!"

He wasn't going to stop. He was going to kill her. And it would be all. my. Fault.

With this in mind, I didn't even blink as I took action, and did something I never thought I would.

* * *

A gun shot was heard, loud and clear. Koobus stumbled back releasing his hold on Molly's throat and gripped his arm, the spot where he had been shot.

And me?

I was standing tall, looking him right in the eye with my hair whipping around, still holding the gun.

"Don't you dare hurt my sister, Koobus." I said softly, taking a step forward, keeping the gun trained on him. I half wanted to shoot him again, to let him feel the pain he made us feel, but I didn't get a chance to.

A group of Poleepkwas surrounded him, and started to rip him apart.

Shuddering slightly, I tossed the gun aside and quickly moved closer to Molly, limping slightly due to the gun shot in my leg. When I got closer, I stayed a few steps back, since they looked like they were having a father-daughter moment, and I didn't want to interrupt them. When Molly closed her eyes, though, I moved forward, kneeling down and ignoring my pain as I looked Wikus in the eye, not even noticing that one was now a poleepkwa eye.

"Wikus, I'm going to take her to the hospital...I'll...I'll do everything in my power to make sure that she's safe, and that she can see you again." I said softly, already knowing it'd mean staying at MNU, but not caring at the moment.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded, kissing Molly on the forehead before gently shifting her to me.

I smiled very slightly, and said my goodbyes to Wikus, before I gently picked her up and stood, managing to not stumble, and started out of the District, and towards the closest hospital, about half a mile away.

"Hang in there,Molly..hang in there..."I said softly, not even thinking of pulling my phone out and calling an ambulance or anything like that. All I knew was I needed to get her to the hospital, as fast as possible.

* * *

After some time, though I don't know how long...all I know is I was starting to feel light headed, like I was going to pass out, but I continued to move forward entering the hospital just as a nurse came by the door, carrying a clipboard.

She had looked over slightly, but her eyes widened when she saw Molly. Quickly shouting orders out, she moved me towards the waiting area, gently pushing me into a chair and pulling a gurney forward, gently taking Molly from me and putting her on it, as a doctor came over and checked her quickly, before hurrying her away, my guess was to an operating room to remove any bullets.

The nurse was talking to me, asking me what happened, but by this point, my head had fallen back, resting against the wall.

"...make sure she's OK..." I said softly, as my eyes drifted shut, and the soft darkness became all I knew.

* * *

AN: Well, thats it ^^ I finished the story (first time ever) and I think it came out quite well. Thanks to all who reviewed and faved, or added to your story alert, it means the world to me that you enjoyed it. Also, in case anyone is wondering why V passed out, it's just from blood loss. She lost to much blood, and pushed a bit to hard. She'll be fine,though. Promise~


	32. Author's Update

Just a Quick note for those who read/are reading this story, but haven't checked my page or have me in their author alert list who were/are looking forward to a sequel. I've already started it, and it can be found on my story list. It's titled 'Perfectly Flawed'.  
So If you liked this story, and want to know what happens next, give it a try. That said, there's drama and...definitely some sadder parts in PF then in TLWBB. I feel the need to warn of sadness, but I'm not saying what it is...it's semi-hinted at already.  
Alright,that's all I have to say for now. Just thought I'd do a little post to let you know I have a sequel ready, since many who read this and faved/added to story alert/reviewed don't seem to be reading it. 


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